Meant For You
by ArmaduraStar7
Summary: About 20 years ago, Crown Prince Leo met the love of his life during his Selection. Now his twin sons, Nicholas and Adam, hope to do the same. Former SYOC, on hiatus.
1. Chapter 1

I was bent over my paper, my eyes glued to it. I could feel the pen making imprints in my hand, but I ignored it. I wrote faster, all to aware of the time flying by.

I heard a knock at the door, but ignored it. There was another knock, and then the door opened. My twin, Adam, stood in the doorframe.

"Nico?" he asked. "It's time. The guests will be here any time now."

"Just a minute."

I got back to writing furiously. Adam leaned against the door, his hazel eyes rolling slightly. "W-we're going to be late."

"Don't worry, I'm almost done."

"You're never almost done," a feminine voice said. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Ella, in an autumn-orange gown. "Come on, you can always finish later. It would suck if you were late for your own birthday ball."

I huffed dramatically, and dropped my pen. Rolling my eyes, I got out of my chair. "Fine, I'll work on it later."

Ella quickly looked me up and down. "Good, you're ready. Lets go."

The three of us walked down the hall. Ella lived on the same floor as my family, even though she and her family technically wasn't "royal." Ella's mom was Brynn Ackerman-Holt, one of my dad's former Selected and now one of his two advisors. She had been my and my twin's best friend for as long as we could remember. And, of course, our sister's too. They were the same age.

"Where's Astrid?" Adam asked. We hadn't seen our little sister all day, but that wasn't really a surprise. Astrid had always preferred nature and animals over humans, unlike me. Adam was also kind of like that, except with books. You could say I'm the extrovert of the Schreave children.

"She's getting ready," Ella answered, flicking her brown hair out of her face. "She'll be down in a few minutes."

We walked down the polished marble stairs. I could see the guests coming into the ballroom from here, which made me swear under my breath. We were late.

"Do you think we can sneak in?" Adam whispered.

"Um, our faces have been all over T.V since we were born. No," I said. "We'll have to go for the dramatic entrance."

I grabbed Ella's arm, and hooked it in Adam's. They both blushed and looked away from each other. I pushed them toward the staircase, and then stepped in front of them. Everyone's heads turned, and I smiled.

"Good evening," I addressed everyone.

We descended the stairs, the room so silent it was creepy. The crowds parted as we entered the ballroom, and thankfully I could hear a sound again.

The ballroom was lavishly decorated. Candles adorned the chandeliers, and the fountain had been polished till it shone. Tables covered in white tablecloths surrounded the dance floor, and politicians in suits stood drinking punch. I grinned. Atmospheres like this had always been my forte.

I scanned everyone in the room, and quickly singled out my parents. They turned around, and met my eyes. I started to walk toward them, and beckoned for Adam and Ella to follow. They had unlinked their arms, and red in the face.

"Hey," I said.

"Nicholas. You're late," my mother chided softly, and she fixed my tie. Time hadn't made Merideth Schreave any less beautiful. She was adored by the people for her kindness and positivity, and her smile right now showed both characteristics. She held my baby brother Henry close to her with one arm.

"I was doing paperwork."

"Don't work to hard," my dad said, with a proud smile. Leopold Schreave was also loved by the citizens of Illea, for being a smart and gracious ruler. With one hand he held a glass of punch, and the other rested on my mom's waist.

"Is everyone here?"

"No, so we won't be officially starting the ball yet. You can go mingle," my dad answered.

"Got it."

I turned around to see Adam lightly glaring at me. I threw up my arms.

"What did I do?"

"Did you really have to make it look like Ella and I were dating?" Adam whispered, his face turning a shade of pink.

"What? All the gossip magazines think one of us is dating her anyways. I'll apologize, if that makes you feel better," I said. I looked around quickly. "Where'd Ella go?"

Adam pointed toward the entrance. Ella and Astrid were walking back toward us. I could see everyone looking toward the two women.

"Hey," Astrid said, smiling. I could practically see the hearts in every man's (and some women's) eyes from here.

"Hi," Adam said.

"You look pretty," I commented. "I can almost see everyone falling in love."

Astrid turned red, and a nervous giggle escaped her pink lips. She tucked one blonde curl behind her ear.

"Spin for me," Ella said. Astrid did a little twirl, her blue gown poofing out and almost engulfing her. I heard a whistle from behind me.

"Dang Astrid. You look especially gorgeous tonight," Zane Ashbaugh said, slinging one arm around Astrid's shoulder. She respectfully pushed it off.

"Thanks."

"Where's Eliza?" Adam asked Zane. Eliza was Zane's little sister, and another friend of ours. She loved books, like Adam, so they were pretty close.

"She went to get snacks. She told me to tell you that she finished Six of Crows," he told my twin. Adam's eyes lit up, and he trailed of to find her.

I glanced around, looking for the rest of my family. I quickly found Aunt Kalliope and Uncle Conner coming toward us. She quickly engulfed me and Zane in a hug.

"Awww, my favorite boys!" she squealed. She pulled us closer, we could barely breathe.

Aunt Kalliope let us go, and Zane and I both took a deep breath. My aunt looked over our little group. "Where's Adam?"

"Talking to Eliza," Zane said. "Where's Bree?"

"Behind you, hotshot," Bree announced. She slapped Zane's butt with a mischievous giggle, and smiled coyly. Her mother laughed, throwing her head back.

"Happy birthday cuz," Bree added, hugging me.

I hugge the petite girl back, smiling. Bree could get everyone in a good mood. "Thanks. How you been?"

"Good. Where's Adam?"

"I'm o-over here," my twin stuttered, popping out from thin air. Eliza stood behind him, smiling nervously. She tugged on a strand of her dark brown hair.

"Oh, hey! Happy birthday, sweet cakes!" Bree said, lightly punching Adam on the arm. He laughed awkwardly, and rubbed the back of his head.

"Hi."

Bree saw the other three girls, and her smile grew. "Hey babes! I've missed you, how's life?"

The four girls hugged, giggling happily.

"Where are Julie and Lena?" Ella thought aloud. Juliette and Lena were our other cousins, but saw them less then our other family. They did live in France.

"Oh, they're getting ready. Overslept. Jet lag, ya know?" Bree mentioned.

Suddenly, the music started. I saw the guests start to dance, and Zane grabbed Bree.

"Wanna dance?"

Bree grinned. "What do you think?"

The two started to dance. Adam and Eliza mysteriously disappeared (I still don't know how they do that). I started to circle the dance floor, lost in thought. There was a announcement coming that night, and I couldn't get my mind of it.

After a few seconds, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around, and was quickly pulled on the dance floor. My cousin Lena stared back at me, grinning.

"Lena? What are you doing?"

She bumped my hip affectionately. "Nice to see you too. And I'm dancing with you. You looked a little worried."

"You don't have to worry about me."

"Okay. We should still dance though."

I smiled, and nodded. I twirled my cousin, and she laughed.

"How's France?" I asked.

"Great. Illea?"

"Getting better. We're getting rid of the last of the rebels, so that's good. Oh, and Columbia has a new representative, but she's very capable. And kind. Also-"

"Whoa," Lena said, interrupting me. "Not to be rude, but remember I'm awful with the politic stuff. My sister is becoming Queen, not me."

"Oh, right. Sorry, I get carried away."

"It's no problem."

The song ended, and Lena and I ended up at the champagne table. She poured herself and me a glass, and handed me mine.

"Bottom's up," she said, and we both gulped down the drink. She poured herself another shot, and my eyes widened in surprise.

"Are you taking another shot?"

She gave me a look. "Hey, alcohol is nice. And, I can blame it on jet lag tomorrow. Just make sure Julie doesn't see me."

I'd forgotten how nice it was to have Lena around.

"Lena!"

Crap.

Lena quickly disappeared under the table, the tablecloth hiding her from prying eyes. Juliette marched up to me, her brown eyes narrowing. I stumbled backward, my heart skipping a beat.

"Have you seen my sister? She disappeared, and I don't want her to get in some kind of trouble," she asked, well, more like demanded. Julie was scary.

"U-um, no. I haven't seen her at all. Not at all," I rambled on. I quickly picked up my glass, and began to start pouring punch in it.

Julie frowned. "Okay. But if you see her, please tell me."

"Gotcha."

Julie walked off, and I stuck my hand under the tablecloth. I felt a small hand grip it, and Lena crawled out from under the table. She stood up, smoothing out her yellow dress.

"Thanks. You saved my butt."

"No problem."

The two of us walked back to the rest of our friends and family. Before I could say anything, I saw my father lightly tapping on a glass with a knife. Everyone looked toward our little group (and my parents), and I saw Adam and Eliza slowly hiding behind Zane.

"Good evening everyone," my father began. "As you know, tonight we are celebrating the birthday of my two sons, Nicholas and Adam."

I glanced at Adam, and he nodded. We both stepped into the spotlight. Everyone cheered, our friends and family being the loudest. Adam's face turned pink.

"Today, they both turned nineteen," my mom said, smiling proudly at us. "Our family has agreed that they both should meet someone they are going to be together for the rest of their lives. We have decided we are going to host a Selection."

The crowd gasped immediately, and started to whisper. Some of my friends did to.

"Forms have been sent out to every illegible female in Illea. Hopefully, they will be getting theirs tonight. We will stop taking forms in one week, which is when we will announce the Selected. Thank you for listening, and have a good evening!"

 **Hello everyone! I'm back! If you didn't know, this fanfic is the sequel to A New Selection, so some things might not make sense if you haven't read that. This is also a SYOC, and there are twenty spots! The form is on my profile, and the rules are below!**

 **1\. Diversity! Illea is where North America is today, and North America is filled with different races and sexualities. Also, please don't make your character your typical kind and sweet heroine. Nice characters are great, but other traits are great too!**

 **2\. No Mary Sues! Everyone has their flaws, and your characters should too.**

 **3\. Detail! Please make your character detailed, so I can write them correctly.**

 **4\. I am taking reservations, but please get them in quickly.**

 **5\. You can submit up to two characters.**

 **6\. You can submit children of the former Selected. However, you'd have to ask me if you could first, because there can only be one. Also, it would be preferred if the child could be the child of your own character.**

 **Also, this isn't really a rule, but if you have a Pinterest account, please make a board for them and share it with me. My account name is the same as my fanfiction name (ArmaduraStar7). Please label it; Character name||Meant For You. Also, labeling the Pm thread with the name, age, and caste of your character would be helpful, but not required.**

 **Just a disclaimer, I do not own the Selection! I also don't own Six of Crows, it's a real book that you should totally read (it's so good). This SYOC is officially open, so please submit! Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

I flipped the page of my book, deeply engrossed in another fictional universe. They were so much more interesting than real life, which was on of the reasons I loved them.

Before I could start the next chapter, the door opened. Nico stood outside, in a suit. He fiddled with his tie, his expression showing impatience. I hesitantly put down my book.

"Is it time for breakfast?" I asked.

"Yeah," he groaned. Nico rubbed his temple, rolling his eyes slightly. I gave him a weird look.

"Are you. . . hungover? I didn't know you drank last night."

"A little," he said. "And I didn't drink that much, just a glass or two."

We walked down to breakfast. I started to wish I had brought my book. Even with my twin, things could be awkward sometimes. I could always make things awkward. I still don't know where I got it from.

"So, are you excited about the Selection?"

I blinked, surprised by the sudden noise. "Um, yeah. I guess. I mean, I'm nervous. I don't do well around girls, or anyone I don't know for that matter. I'll probably start babbling."

My twin nudged me with his shoulder, grinning. "Don't worry. You'll do fine. The ladies will probably be so smitten, you won't even have to talk! Plus, you could ask Zane or Bree for flirting lessons."

"No thanks," I said flatly. Nico laughed.

"Personally, I'm really excited," Nico stated, moving his hands rapidly as he talked. "The only girls I really get to talk to is Ella and other members of our family. Oh, and the maids. The change will be nice. Also, we'll be able to learn what the citizens of Illea think of us, and how we can do better. It'll be a great opportunity!"

We arrived at the dining hall before I could say anything else. Ella and Astrid were already there, and were chatting happily. The two waved at us when they saw us.

"Good morning," Astrid said.

"Morning," Nico commented. "Where's the others?"

Ella waved her phone in the air. "Zane just texted me. They're coming now."

The waiters entered the dining hall to bring our breakfast. One of the cooks came out to, Ms. Haven. She came over to me, and I smiled at her.

"Good morning," I said. "Yesterday's chocolate brownies were amazing, did you make them?"

"Yeah, I did," she answered. "Thanks for the compliment."

"It's no problem."

"Hey Ms. Haven," Ella shouted from the other side of the table. "Can you tell my dad hi for me?"

"Of course, sweetie."

Ella's dad was Alexander Ackerman-Holt. He was a cook, even though his wife was a royal advisor. He was very nice, and an amazing cook. Strangely, Ella couldn't cook very well.

Suddenly, the doors burst open, which made me flinch. Zane, Eliza, and our cousins walked in.

"Good morning, my dudes!" Bree shouted, a ridiculous smile on her face. She sat down next to Astrid. Eliza sat next to me. She had earbuds in, and a faint smile on her face. She tapped her fingers to the beat of whatever song she was listening to on the table.

"Where is your father?" Julie asked. Even though she lived in France, she could speak English perfectly. So could her little sister, Lena, who was currently eating her breakfast faster than I thought was humanly possible.

Nico shrugged. "I don't know. He's probably in a meeting, or talking to your parents."

We all started to eat breakfast, and the more social of our "squad" (as Bree and Lena liked to call it) started to talk. I stayed quiet, and slowly ate my food. The wish that I'd brought my book got stronger.

Bree to a large gulp of orange juice, and her eyes widened. She swallowed, and started to cough violently. Astrid smacked the smaller girl on the back, and Bree stopped coughing. Bree started to smile, ear-to-ear.

"Oh!" she yelled unexpectedly. Ella knocked her fork of the table in surprise. Bree started to bounce in her chair, her green eyes wide.

"I forgot to tell you guys! My mom says that we're not going to leave for Hudson tomorrow, we're going to stay. She wants to watch your Selection, she thinks it'll be interesting."

Everyone at the table started to smile, including me. Zane and Nico both let out yells of joy. The Selection was going to be so much fun with my younger cousin around. She was probably already planning elaborate pranks to play on the Selected, and us as well.

"I hope Aunt Kalliope convinced out mom to stay!" Lena said. "I want to see what happens, it'll be hard to watch from France."

Julie sniffed, turning her nose slightly upward. "I suppose that would be fun. It would be hard to know what was happening here if we were all the way in France. I'll have to get my maid to mail me my paperwork though. That will be inconvenient."

"Speaking of France, what's going on over there? I heard there was a problem, a murderer?" Nico asked, picking at his food.

Julie turned toward my twin, smiling faintly. Nico and Julie loved to talk about this kind of stuff. Not murders, but politics. Stuff that was happening in their respected countries. I hated politics, and so did most of our friends, so Nico and Julie would talk about them for hours when we were visiting France, or when she visited Illea. He still found our cousin scary, but they connected well.

"Hey!" a cheery voice said. Eliza had pulled out her headphones, and was grinning at me. "I started Crooked Kingdom last night. It's so amazing, I can't predict what's going to happen! It's crazy good."

"I know! There are so many plot twists," I said, smiling back at one of my best friend. "I loved the relationship between Jesper and Wylan."

Eliza was the daughter of one of my dad's advisors, so I'd had known her since she was born. We both loved books, and connected easily. I liked talking to her, it wasn't nearly as awkward as talking to some others. We talked a lot, she was like a sister to me.

"What were you listening to?"

"Oh, Hamilton songs, like usual," she replied. Along with books, Eliza loved (and obsessed over) musical theatre. It was actually quite funny, because Eliza was the name of one of the characters in Hamilton.

"Cool."

Out of nowhere, Zane swung one arm around his younger sister's shoulders, and squeezed. Eliza let out a little squeal in surprise.

"Are you excited to meet some new people?" he asked her. I was momentarily confused, until I figured out that he was talking about the Selection.

"U-um, I guess?" she stammered out. "I'm a little nervous. . ."

Zane laughed, ruffling Eliza's hair playfully. "You shouldn't worry about it. It'll get you out of your shell. You can make some new friends."

Lena mentioned something, which made Zane start talking to her again. Eliza sighed, looking a little sad. She and her brother used to be pretty close, but as they grew up, they grew apart. They didn't talk much now, but I could tell that Eliza wished they did. She hated it when he ignored her, which was a lot.

I quickly pulled my friend into a hug, which made Eliza smile.

"Did I mention that I started another book?"

Eliza gasped, feigning a hurt look. "Without telling me? I am offended!"

We talked for a while, until breakfast was over and everyone was going their separate ways. It was when we were walking through the halls of the palace when my best friend popped the question that everyone seemed to be asking me lately.

"Are you excited about the Selection?"

I groaned, running my hand through my hair. "I mean, a little. The idea is nice, but I don't really want to have to talk to so many people. Or interact with them. It's going to be really awkward, and I don't want to disappoint them."

Eliza affectionately knocked my shoulder with her's. "Please. I get the nervousness stuff, but you aren't going to disappoint anyone."

I smiled at her, my eyes crinkling. "Thanks."

 **Hey! Sorry I took a long time to update, I was travelling for the holidays. And on that topic, I hope all of you had a very Merry Christmas (or Hanukkah, or whatever you celebrate). It's also the second day of Kwanzaa, so yay!**

 **Huge thanks to everyone who submitted! All of the characters I gotten are so amazing, thank you guys so so much!**

 **Another thing, I'll mostly be alternating between Nico's and Adam's pov, but I will do other members of the squad's (name inspiration credit goes to rysaspirit) and maybe some of the Selected.**

 **Last thing, Nico and Adam's b-day is in October, so when they meet the Selected, it will be at a Halloween ball. Please send me your character's costume, and sorry for the inconvenience.**

 **As always, thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

I knocked swiftly on Bree's door, looking around to make sure I wasn't being seen. I saw one green eye through the peephole, and the door opened. Bree grabbed the front of my shirt, and pulled me in the room. I almost fell on her.

"Nico. Finally, you're almost late," Bree teased, patting my cheek. I rolled my eyes dramatically.

"Nice to see you too. Aren't you going to be cold?"

Bree smirked, fixing her black and white striped dress. "Hon, I'm from Hudson. Angeles is hot this time of the year, believe me."

The other two in the room were Lena and Zane. Lena was wearing a red long-sleeve top with glittery gold leggings, and was pulling on her beat-up white sneakers. She looked up at me, smiling. Her lips were as red as blood, and her black eyeliner was perfect. She looked gorgeous.

Zane was wearing a simple blue short-sleeve with black jeans. His brown-red hair was messy, and his outfit was pretty casual, but the girls would be all over him. He wrapped his arm around Bree, and pulled her close to him.

"We ready?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Wait," Lena said, frowning. "Where's Ella? I thought she was going to be coming to the club with us?"

"Oh," I said. "Remember Brady?"

"Brady?" Bree guessed, tapping one manicured finger on her chin. "He's that guard she was dating, right? What about him?"

"He was cheating on her," I answered. "She found out, and they broke up. She's with Astrid, and wants everyone else to leave her alone."

While I was talking, my hands slowly clenched into fists. Bree and Lena both looked dumbfounded and angry, and Zane looked livid.

"Where the hell does he live?" was the first thing that came out of Bree's mouth. Her eyes had an evil gleam in them, and that was definitely her scheming face. I knew she was planning something.

"I am going to destroy him!" she exclaimed. "No one messes with my friends and gets away with it."

"Whatever you're doing, count me in," Zane said angrily.

"Same here," Lena added. "You sure we shouldn't stay?"

"No," I said. "She wants us to go."

My friends looked apprehensive, but agreed we should go.

"It's what Ella wants," Lena had said.

"She's not dead," Bree muttered.

Lena sighed, rolling her eyes. "You know what I mean."

Sneaking out the window wasn't an option (considering we were in a palace, and if we tried, we would fall to our deaths). We did know of another exit, if it was still there. When we were kids, Bree found a secret exit out of the palace in one of the guest rooms. Now, we all sneaked through the halls of the palace, and entered the guest room.

Bree opened the closet door, and sure enough, the trapdoor was still there. She opened it, and let out a puff of dust We all started climbing down the ladder. All of a sudden, Lena sneezed. Loudly.

"Shh," I said. Lena lightly slapped me on the arm.

"No one's going to hear us down here," she said. "Come on, let's go!"

The tunnel was very dusty, but it worked. Soon, we were climbing out of the tunnel, outside of the palace grounds. We dusted of our clothes. Zane ran one hand through his hair, which made us all groan.

"Save the showing of for the club, will you?" Bree grumbled. "We gotta get a taxi."

Lena handed me and Zane sunglasses from her purse, and we put them on. She put on thick-rimmed black glasses, and Bree pulled her short blonde hair into a ponytail. Making sure no know knew who we were was critical.

Lena quickly pulled over a taxi, and we all slid in. Zane put his arm around Bree, and she leaned into him. It was really strange that they had never dated, considering they acted like they did half the time.

"Where to?" the driver asked, not even looking at us.

"The Fae Folk," Zane said, grinning mischievously. The driver nodded, and sped off.

"Ooooh, is this the club with the good drinks?" Bree guessed.

Zane nodded. "Yeah. Last time I went there, I got totally wasted. It's awesome!"

Lena rolled her eyes. "If that's your definition of awesome."

"Hey, don't lie. You like alcohol," I said, nudging her.

"Well, yeah, but getting drunk? Dude, that's dangerous. And the hangovers are so not worth it."

It was still crazy that my cousin was 16, and had gotten drunk before, but with this family I really should have expected it. The royal family could be a little. . . nuts.

We soon arrived at the club. The building's sign glowed a radiant purple, and I could hear music from all the way out here. The windows were darkened, so I couldn't see inside. Zane sauntered up to the bouncer, who grinned at my friend.

"Zane! Wasn't expecting to see you here!" he said. They clasped hands and did a chest bump.

"Boys," Bree muttered to Lena. She snorted.

The bouncer waved us through, and we walked into the club. It was packed with people, dancing to the beat of the music. The lights glowed purple and silver, the whole place was very futuristic, but fantasy-like at the same time. It was beautiful, and pretty classy. No one looked wasted, at least not yet. The night was still young.

Zane waved to the bartender, who waved back.

"Nice digs," Bree said, nodding approvingly. Lena was already nodding her head to the beat of the music, and smiling.

"I agree. Reminds me of this bar in France."

We all sat down at the bar. Zane seemed to know everyone in this place, because we didn't even need fake .

"The usual?" the bartender asked Zane.

"Yup."

The bartender, who's name tag said, "Jerry Jr," turned to us. "What do you three want?"

"Do you have any wine?" Lena questioned.  
"We only have Mommessin Beaujolais right now, is that okay?"

Lena's face lit up. "Of course! I'll have that."

"I'll have a Peppermint Patty," Bree said. She was already looking at the dance floor, an almost hungry look in her eye and a smirk on her face.

The bartender looked at me expectantly. I quickly ran a list through my mind of what to say, but Zane beat me to it.  
"He'll have a Nutty Irishman, thanks."

The bartender nodded, and started to make our drinks. Zane punched me lightly on the arm.

"You really need to get out more," he said, chuckling.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm just training to be the next king of Illea, but I should totally go to more clubs," I shot back.

We continued to bicker good-naturally until we got our drinks. Mine looked like. . . beer. With a lot of foam on the top. Zane was given a plate-like thing that held multiple shots of alcohol. Lena got a glass, which was not even half-full. Still, she looked satisfied, and swirled the wine happily in her glass. Bree's drink was clear, and had a lime slice on her glass.

"Dude, you're going to love that," Zane said, nudging me.

"I don't even know what this is."

"Can we stop arguing, and start drinking!" Bree yelled over the music. She was almost stroking her glass.

"I thought you'd never ask."

We all held up our glasses, and clinked them together.

"L'hymne!" we chorused, and all drank.

My eyes widened as I sipped my drink. The Nutty Irishman was smooth, cold, and creamy. After another sip, I felt something. Some kind of kick, and it was pretty strong. Still, it was one of the best drinks I'd ever tasted.

"Wow," I said. "This. . . this is amazing."

"I know, right?" Bree gushed. "This is really good."

She took another sip of her drink. Zane had already taken a shot, and he was gulping down another. He blinked a few times, smiling ear-to-ear.

"What'd you get?" I asked him.

"The Three Wise Men," he said. I gave him a look.

"Please tell me, did you expect me to know what that is?" I retorted, sipping my drink.

"It's scotch, whiskey, and bourbon," he stated bluntly. I almost choked.

"Dude. That's strong."

"Last time I was here, I had two rounds before I couldn't feel my face. I'll be fine."

I knew Zane could take care of himself, but sometimes I worried. He could make some bad choices sometimes (okay, maybe a lot).

"I thought the clubs and bars here in Illea were going to be sleazy, but this one's pretty cool," Lena said, sipping her wine.

"What, are French clubs the high standard?" Bree protested. I could already tell that she was a bit drunk. Bree was pretty small, so she couldn't consume that much alcohol. She had already finished half her glass. I hoped I wouldn't have to carry her out of here.

"They're pretty clean and classy, if I do say so myself."

As my friends argued, I looked toward the dance floor. Tonight was going to be one of the last nights before the Selection started, and then I'd be too busy to go out anywhere in my free time. That was one of the reasons I'd agreed to come here, instead of staying home and working.

It was a good choice, I thought. This is fun.

I took another sip of my drink. I noticed that Lena had already finished her wine, and was getting up to dance. Bree was following her, stumbling a little. Great. I was going to have to carry her out.

I finished my drink rather quickly, and put it down. Zane had also finished his shots (which I should have been surprised by, but I wasn't). He got up, and beckoned me to follow him. I got up uneasily, and followed him.

"Where are we going?"

"Dance floor, dude. Where do you think we were going?"

I shrugged, and followed him.

The dance floor was packed, I could barely move without bumping into someone. The music drowned out almost all other noise. Everyone was hot and sweaty, but it was still kind of fun. I could see the appeal in this. No one knew you (unless you came with friends) and you could just let loose and be free.

I liked it.

I started to dance a little. I was much better at waltzing, but this wasn't too bad. It was a bit awkward, but surprisingly fun.

As the night went on, I danced with a couple girls. None of them really made an impression on me (though they were nice). I had another drink, and a couple of ones with no alcohol. It was really cool, just to be somewhere where no one cared who I was, or what my status was.

It was amazing to just be normal for a night.

About a half an hour later, I was talking with Bree (who was mostly sober by then, thankfully). Suddenly, another person came through the door. I wouldn't have really been interested, but something about this man seemed. . . familiar. I had the strong sense I had seen him somewhere.

Then it hit me like a slap in the face.

"How the hell," I began, "Is Brady here? Tonight?"

Bree's eyes widened. It would have been almost comical, if they hadn't been filled with rage. She slowly turned to look where I was looking, and her face hardened. Her eyes narrowed. I was slightly scared she was going to throw her empty glass at him (although that would be funny, I didn't want to get arrested).

Bree started to mutter many colorful words under her breath. I winced automatically.

"A-Are guards even allowed to go to clubs?" Bree sputtered. .

"I don't know!"

"We have to do something," she said slowly. I knew that she was restraining herself from doing something crazy.

"What?"

"Revenge!"

Brady strolled through the club. His cocky expression made me want to punch him. What were the odds that he would come tonight?

I was about to mention something to Bree, but she had disappeared.

Crap.

I quickly scanned the crowd, and saw her making her way toward Brady. I sprinted after her to the best of my ability, it was hard to run in such a packed area. Bree was going to do something, and I was afraid of what that "something" was.

Bree was getting closer and closer, but I was almost next to her. I was close enough to see her stick out her foot, and trip the douchebag.

He stumbled, and fell. It was like everything stopped. Everyone turned to look at him, and many people started to giggle. Even the music got quieter. I snorted. Bree through her head back, laughing almost crazily.

Brady's face turned redder than a tomato. He looked up, anger filling his eyes like tears would. He looked like he was going to punch somebody, then saw Bree glaring down at him. He froze.

"W-what are you doing here?" he stammered, getting to his feet.

"I didn't know palace guards were allowed to go to clubs," Bree said, ignoring what Brady said. "I would hope you didn't lose your job, but considering you cheated on one of my friends, I don't give a crap."

She smiled bitterly. The crowd gasped dramatically, it was like a T.V drama. I didn't know what to do, so I just stood there.

"How dare you do that to Ella!" Bree shouted, getting louder and angrier. She stepped forward, and Brady steeped back. Even though Bree was quite small (and Brady was tall), he looked scared.

"Look, just go away!" he yelled.

"Like I'm going to!"

In a vain attempt to get away from the small ball of anger that was Bree, Brady turned around and started to run. Bree swore loudly, and ran after him. I ran after the both of them.

Brady kept shoving people to make a path for him to run through. Bree was small enough that people didn't have to move for her to get through.

All of a sudden, Brady shoved a guy, who looked drunk. The guy was pretty burly, and wouldn't move.

"Get out of the way!" Brady screamed.

The guy turned around and grabbed the front of Brady's shirt. He threw him into the throng of people, knocking a whole punch of people down.

Everything escalated very quickly, and before I knew it, everyone was punching and hitting each other.

It was a bar fight, and we had started it.

I looked around for my friends frantically. I quickly found Bree, who was sneaking through the groups of fighting people.

"Nico!" she yelled, waving at me. I ran toward her, eyes narrowing.

"Really! You had to start a fight?"  
Bree sighed. "Sorry. I'd do it again though."

"Of course. Now, where's Lena and Zane?"

We pushed our way to the bar, and stood on the stools. I couldn't see Lena, but I saw Zane. He was by the stage, but I couldn't see what he was doing.

I lept of the stool, and Bree followed. We both ran toward Zane as fast as we could (which wasn't actually very fast).

"Zane!" I shouted. "We gotta leave!"

I finally saw him. I'm pretty sure he wasn't paying attention to me, because her was making out with some girl against the wall. Bree sighed.

"Come on," she groaned. She walked up to him, grabbed the back of his shirt, and pulled him of the girl.

"Hey!" he protested.

"We gotta go before we get busted!" Bree said.

Zane rolled his eyes. He quickly grabbed the women who he was making out with, kissed her, and then ran off with us.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Bree started a fight."

"What?"

"It wasn't my fault!" Bree objected.

We reached the exit. I was about to go look for Lena, but she was already waiting by the exit. She was studying her fingernails.

"Oh, good. You're here. Let's go!" Lena said.

We left the club, and I breathed in the cool nighttime air. We ran away from the club, and Bree called a taxi.

"What happened back there?" Lena gasped.

"Bree started a fight."

"What?"

I laughed. "That's what Zane said."

Lena turned to Bree, looking puzzled (and a bit amused). Bree shrugged.

"Brady was there. I regret nothing."

"Brady was there?!" Zane and Lena both yelled in unison.

"Yeah."

"Oh. That's understandable then," Zane said.

"No it isn't. I mean, he deserved it, but she didn't need to start a fight," Lena said.

"I didn't really start it," Bree butted in.

The taxi pulled up in front of us, and we got in. Lena, Zane, and Bree were starting to argue.

"I'm never going to a club with you guys again," I muttered.

 **So that's the chapter. Sorry if it was a bit random, but I hoped you liked it. Also, all the spots for this syoc are filled. To Smiley, I can still put Rosanna it (but not as a Selected, probably a minor character or someone like Lena or Bree. There are two reservations being held, and if the users cancel out the reservations then I can put her in).**

 **This is really random, but I have recently seen The Greatest Showman, and it was really good! You should check it out, the soundtrack is amazing!**

 **The Selected will probably be announced in the chapter after the next (Chapter Five). And as always, thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

"Give me a minute!" Nico yelled from inside his room. I heard something hitting the floor, and a loud curse word, which made me wince. Nico was taking longer than normal this morning, which was weird. I had heard that he wasn't at the palace last night (Eliza texted me) but I didn't know much about what had happened.

Abruptly, Nico opened the door. He grinned at me, and we started to walk along the hall.

"What took you so long?"

"I needed to get some Aspirin."

"Why? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Just a bit hungover, but it's not a big deal."

I stopped in the middle of the hall, turning to face Nico. "What? You're hungover? I heard that you went out last night, but where did you go?"

Nico gestured vaguely. "I'll tell you at breakfast. Now, let's hurry. I'm hungry."

We continued to walk down the hall, the silence becoming awkward.

I sat down in the dining hall, looking around. Not many people were there yet, only my sister, Ella, Julie, and Eliza. I had heard that my brother, Zane, Bree, Lena had gone out last night, like I said earlier, but I didn't know much about it.

I sat down next to Ella, and quickly hugged her. She froze for a second, but kind of melted in it. She hugged back tightly.

"Sorry about Brady," I said.

"It's not your fault," she mumbled. "But thanks."

I gave her a quick squeeze, and then let go. I could tell that Ella was pretty heartbroken about the whole thing, she had really liked Brady.

"Where's Zane?" Nico asked Eliza.

"He's not coming," she answered quietly. "Hangover."

Nico winced in sympathy. "Tell him hi for me, kay?"

"Sure."

Or breakfast arrived, and with that, Lena and Bree came as well. They slid into their seats. Lena wasn't hungover, but Bree definitely was. She was wearing sunglasses, for goodness sake.

"Hey Ella," Lena said, smiling softly. "Sorry about Brady."

"Yeah," Bree chimed in. "He's a jackass for cheating on you. He _totally_ had it coming."

She laughed at something, and started to eat. Ella frowned slightly.

"What do you mean?"

Lena snorted, picking at her food. "Bree started a bar fight."

There was a silence.

" _What_?!" everyone at the table (besides Nico, Bree and Lena) yelled. For some reason, that made them burst out laughing.

"That's was Zane and I said," Lena giggled, holding her stomach.

"Y-you started a bar fight?" Julie sputtered. She had dropped her fork, and her mouth was wide open.

"Close your mouth, you'll catch flies," Lena teased. Julie immediately pursed her lips together, her face a shade of pink.

"Why?" Astrid asked.

"Brady was there," Bree said, shrugging. "I couldn't help it."

She started to eat her food, grinning like a maniac.

"Wait," Ella guessed. "B-Brady was there?"

"Yup," Lena confirmed. "Bree tripped him, then started yelling at him."

"She was terrifying," Nico added. "He was running away, and that's how the bar fight started. It was kind of scary, but actually kind of fun."

Ella was still stunned by the news, but Eliza and Astrid had started to laugh. Julie was also smiling, and I could see that she was holding back laughter.

"T-thanks," Ella said. She had also started to smile, which made the edges of my mouth tug upwards.

"No problem. It was pretty awesome, humiliating him," Bree told Ella. My cousin did get up to hug Ella, and kiss her cheek. I guess that was just a thing that girls did.

"Hey Adam," Nico said suddenly.

"What?"

Nico held up his phone. "I just got a text from dad. He wants us to come to his office after breakfast. It's about the Selection."

My heart skipped a beat. "O-oh. Okay. Did he say anything else?"

"Nope. I wonder what he wants to talk to us about."

I shrugged.

Nico mentioning the Selection had gotten me nervous. I had tried to avoid thinking about the event. Everyone else was pretty excited about it, but I was nervous. I wasn't good around people in general, never mind 35 girls I had to date. I hoped some of them liked books.

"I can't believe the Selected girls are being picked out tomorrow," Lena mentioned. "Time's gone by so quickly."

"I know," Ella said. "I'm pretty excited! We get to meet so many new people."

Everyone started to talk about the Selection, and I returned to eating my breakfast. Someone poked my arm, and when I looked up I saw Astrid grinning at me.

"Hey," she said.

". . . hi?"

My little sister leaned back in her chair, tucking her blonde hair behind her ear. "So, how do you feel about the Selection?"

"Why do you ask?"

"I just noticed you weren't adding to the conversation. So, even though you've probably been asked this a ton of times, what's your opinion?"  
I fiddled with the tablecloth, averting my eyes. "I. . . I'm excited, I guess. I'm nervous to. I mean, I'm not that good at talking. To anybody. So I'm not sure how I'm going to talk to 35 girls. I don't want to mess up, I'm sure they have high expectations."

I looked up and met her eyes. She nodded a litte. "I kind of agree."

"You do?"

She giggled half-heartedly. "If you've noticed, I'm not the most social. I mean, you totally have it worse. I don't need to talk to these girls, but I can't hide in the gardens forever. It'll be fun, I'd like new friends, but I don't really want to talk to them that much. Like you said."

"Yeah. Well, I'm sure it won't be that bad. There has to be someone you'll enjoy talking to."

"Okay. There will be, for you to. Thanks."

"No problem."

Soon after Astrid's and I's little chat, Nico and I headed to our dad's office. He had gotten more busy the past few weeks, so we hadn't been seeing him that often. Nico and I were both hoping that we would spend some family time soon.  
That wish went out the window once we entered his office.

Our dad was seated at his desk, an irritated look on his face. Uncle Tristan was sewing up a huge top hat (there were multiple more stacked neatly behind him) and Aunt Brynn was arguing with the third advisor in the room.

Ruby Walker.

I tried to be positive about life and people, but she was just awful. I saw Nico cringe just looking at her, which almost made me laugh.

"We can't randomly pick girls from each province. We could get someone dangerous, we can't risk the lives of everyone in this palace!" she yelled. She was looking at Bynn with narrowed eyes.

"We have to pick girls randomly, or else the Selection wouldn't be fair. We can't just have twos and threes in this Selection, there should be ladies with multiple different castes," Aunt Brynn replied. She looked calm, but I could see that she was really mad.

"That's dangerous and you know it! The lower caste Selected would only be here to steal, and to get money. We can only trust the ladies that have a higher caste."

Aunt Brynn threw her arms in the air. "I've met many lower caste people, and they are kind, hard-working, honest people. We can't just judge them off a number!"

Nico cleared his throat. Everyone turned to look at us, which made me flinch.

"What do you think?" Brynn asked.

"Oh come on. Nicholas and Adam are just children, they probably don't have an opinion on this," Ruby said, waving us off.

"Excuse me, but we're nineteen. We can think for ourselves," Nico objected. He crossed his arms, the look on his face almost identical to our dad's. It was remarkable how alike they could be sometimes.

"You're still children, you two should leave!"

"I invited them Ruby, they can stay," my dad said, running one hand over his face. Ruby rolled her eyes dramatically, but didn't say anything.

"So, what is your opinion?"

Nico, of course, spoke immediately. "We should make sure all of the Selected don't have a criminal background, or at least a serious one. There shouldn't be a problem if the offenses are petty."

For some reason, I felt compelled to say something, which didn't happen often. I made a small noise, and because of my lack of luck, everyone heard.

"What?" Aunt Brynn said gently.

U-um," I stuttered. "We shouldn't decide the Selected based on caste, or skin color, or anything like t-that. It should be fair, you know? And if we chose based on things like that, the Selection wouldn't be fair. We'd be lying to the citizens of Illea, which we don't want to do. So. . . yeah."

There was a moment of silence, and then Nico nodded. "Great idea! We need to be fair, like what Adam said! That's our opinion on this."

Ruby looked angry, there was a fire simmering in her eyes, but she nodded.

"Okay, fine," she spat.

"Okay, can you help us sort through the forms?"

About ten minutes later, we were all sitting on the floor, sorting through forms and putting them into the big top hats. It was mostly boring, but all I could think about was the Selection.

It was starting tomorrow.

One of the biggest events of my life was about to begin.

 **Hello! Omg thank you guys so much for all the amazing reviews! I swear my heart nearly exploded of happiness when I was reading them. Also, to Smiley, Rosanna's accepted!**

 **The next chapter will be in Nico's pov, and it will be the announcing of the Selected. I'll try to get it out quickly. Again, thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

_Nicholas' POV_

I sat down in the lavishly decorated chairs. For me, it was a bit extra, but the chairs were really soft. I looked over at mt twin, who was in a chair identical to mine. He looked like he was going to be sick.

It made sense. The Selected, our future wives, were about to be announced in front of a live audience. I was a little nervous to. It wasn't agreeing with me.

We were on the Report stage, and it was going to start in a few minutes. The rest of our squad were sitting in the shadows. They could be seen, but most of the focus was on my brother and I. Astrid was out with us though, along with our parents and our baby brother Henry.

"Hey," I said to Adam. He turned to look at me, his face devoid of any color.

"You're going to be great. This is going to be a good night."

He smiled weakly. "Yeah. Y-you're right. Just fine."

Suddenly, multiple members of the staff came in, all holding big top hats. Each one was labeled with a province, and held hundreds of Selection forms. The squad and my family would pick the forms out of the hats. It was Penelope "Penny" Fadaye's idea. She had been the Report host for the past eleven years, and had just arrived.

"We're going live in one minute!" she yelled, which was something she was rather good at. Penny scribbled furiously on a piece of paper, and somehow waved at us at the same time. Adam and I waved back.

"How are you two doing?" my dad asked, slightly concerned. Adam did look like he was about to puke.

"Nervous," he said, with a forced laugh.

"It'll be fine. I was pretty nervous when I had my Selection, but it wasn't as bad as I thought. Just be positive."

"Okay," Adam responded, nodding.

"Got it dad. Thanks," I said.

"The Report is starting in four. . . three!"

I looked back at the curtain that separated us and the live audience, and grinned.

"Two. . . one! Welcome to a very special Report, citizens of Illea! Tonight we will be announcing the Selected!" Penny began loudly. "These 35 lucky ladies will have the chance to date and possibly marry the twin princes, Nicholas and Adam! Speaking of which, what are your opinions on the Selection?"

Penny handed me the mic, and I widen my smile. "Well, I'm looking forward to the Selection. It's an amazing opportunity for us, and all the eligible women across Illea. To the Selected, I look forward to meeting you all."

The audience clapped, and I handed the mic to Adam. I quickly flashed him a sympathetic look. His face went another shade of white.

"W-well," he stammered. "I'm a little nervous, b-but I'm looking forward to it. Like what Nico said, this is a great opportunity. I'm sure the ladies will be kind, wonderful people."

The crowd applauded him, and Penny took back the mic.

"So, now we will be picking the Selected!" she announced.

Adam and I both got up, and went to the first hat. It was for the province Allens. Penny had decided that we would both pick the first Selected. We both reached into the hat, and grabbed a form.

Adam unfolded it, and we both read, "Camilla Sinclair, Three."

I don't know how the tech people did it, but a picture of her came on the screens. She was grinning at the camera, her blonde hair down. Her eyes were remarkable, they were so blue they almost looked white.

I went to the next province, which was Angeles. The Selected from my home province didn't really make an impression on me, which was a shame. I hoped someone unique could have came out of Angeles, not saying that the Selected wasn't unique. I really shouldn't base someone of their looks though.

Adam pulled a form out of the next hat, Atlin. "Giselle Deland, Two."

A picture of a brown-haired women with brown eyes and a charming smile popped up on the screens. She was beautiful, and I recognized her last name. I was pretty sure her father was the CEO for a famous company called Delund Tech. She would definitely be a good person to befriend.

The next few girls were like the Angeles ones, they didn't really make an impression on me. One was very beautiful, but I didn't like the look in her eyes. Another just looked downright bored.

After a few provinces, Penny interrupted us.

"For the provinces from now on, how about some of the rest of the Royal Family join the twins?" she asked the crowd. They cheered so loudly, I was pretty sure they bust my eardrums.

"Will the lovely Princess Astrid come down please?"

Astrid got up from her seat, blushing as everyone cheered. She went to the next province's hat, which was Carolina.

"Lilia Hannah Smith, four," she announced. I heard Ella gasp from behind me. I did recognize the name, I was pretty sure I knew her. But from where?

The next form was picked out by Ella. The Selected was from Clermont, and her name was pretty cool.

"Olympia Archer, Two."

She had blonde hair, and wasn't smiling. Interesting. I wanted to meet her now.

For the next hat (Columbia), Lena sauntered over and casually plucked a form from the top of the pile. She unfolded it, and read in a dramatic voice; "Alia Grayson, Three."

There had been a lot of upper-caste Selected, which was weird. It was probably Ruby's fault, it always was. I tried to ignore those thoughts, and focus on the picture. She had dirty blonde hair, blue eyes, and a happy smile. I liked her immediately.

Julie picked the next Selected, who hailed from Dakota. Her name was Cecelia Rhode, and she was a five. The first five of the Selection. She was another blonde, and was smiling politely.

I picked the next Selected, her name was Lydia Agnes and she was from Denbeigh. She was a redhead, which was cool, but I didn't like the pout on her face.

Bree did the next Selected, waving to the audience as she walked to the hat, which was representing Dominica. She dramatically dug through the forms in the hat, and then pulled one out (which scattered multiple forms on the ground).

"Selene Lucia, two," Bree read.

Lady Selene had caramel skin, and brown hair that was slightly curly. She was really beautiful, but she wasn't smiling.

I spaced out a bit for the next one, but I started listening again as Adam picked the Selected from Hansport. He frowned at the paper.

"A-Aisling o'Byrne," he said. "I apologize if I pronounced your name wrong."

The girl who popped up on the screen was also red-headed, like Lady Lydia. She was probably Irish, considering her name. She wasn't smiling, but her eyes were narrowed.

The Selected from Honduragua wasn't that interesting, but the girl from Hudson certainly was.

"Evadne Regine Leventhorpe," I announced, surprised I didn't stutter. The audience started to whisper.

The Leventhorpe family was quite infamous. Three years ago, they were revealed to be scamming hard-working Illeans to give their money to them. That's wasn't all that happened, but the scandal was huge. I had also heard of Lady Evadne, she and her sister had thrown some huge parties back in her family's golden days.

Lena cleared her throat, and everyone went quiet. She pulled out a from from Kent's hat, and read it aloud.

"Genevieve Lark, six."

The next Selected distracted everyone from their thoughts about the Leventhorpes. She wasn't smiling, and had strawberry blonde hair that was pulled into a ponytail.

The next girl, from Labrador, was picked by Eliza. Her name was Natalia Ignacia, and she was a two. Her brown hair was down, and she had brown eyes. She was pretty, but something wasn't right about her. It could have been just be, but something was off.

Another name was announced, this one from the province of Lakedon. The next Selected was from Likely, and was picked out by Zane.

"Riley Clark, Three," he said. The girl had black hair, or it may have been really dark brown. Her smile was secretive, but playful and witty. Zane whistled softly when he saw the photo. I wondered what she was like, like I did for all the ladies.

Adam picked the next Selected, who was from Midston. He dug really deep in the hat, and then pulled out a form.

"Rosanna Symmes, Two."

I heard my parents gasp. Rosanna was the daughter of Valerie Bloom Symmes, a former Selected. I was pretty sure I had met Lady Rosanna before, her face looked familiar. Her eyes were pretty, they were big and a blue-gray color.

Julie walked up to the next hat (Ottaro) and picked a form from the top of the pile.

"Yixin Li, two," she announced.

Another women that I recognized. I was pretty sure she was the daughter of Peng Li, who worked at the New Asia embassy. He was very short-tempered, from what I remembered.

Back to the Selected, she was very beautiful. Lady Yixin had red-brown hair, and big, what looked like brown, eyes. She wasn't smiling though, and the look on her face was haughty.

The next few ladies didn't really make catch my attention, but the Selected from Sonage did. Her name was pretty long, Carolina Ember Antoinette Quinton. Her blonde hair was short and curly, and she was smiling confidently. I liked that smile.

I jogged to the next hat, which was Sumner's. I might have spaced out again, because I was pretty sure Sumner didn't come after Sonage, but whatever.

I stuck my hand into the papers, and pulled out another form.

"Izara Ebba Karlsson, three."

Lady Izara looked similar to Lady Selene from earlier. Lady Izara's skin tone was a little darker though, and her hair was poofier. Her hair was gorgeous though, she overall looked very nice in her photo.

Tammins' Selected again, didn't really make an impression, but Waverly's did. Waverly's was quite strange. Not the girl, but more her looks.

Mackenzie Stone looked almost exactly like one of the Selected from before, Natalia Ignacia.

They were different in some ways. Lady Natalia's hair was straight, and Lady Mackenzie's hair was curly and poofy. Lady Mackenzie's smile was different from her lookalike's, but I couldn't explain how. But other then that, they looked exactly the same.

I could see my friend's and the audience's confusion, but luckily Astrid quickly walked over to White's hat. Everyone suddenly became more excited. My mother was from Whites, after all. I was also wondering who would come out of that province.

"Joy Johnson, two."

I was sure I had heard of this girl before, but I couldn't put my finger on where. She had a smile that brightened the room, and long blonde hair. I started smiling just looking at the photo, and Adam did to.

The next Selected girl was from Yukon. Her name was Alexis Jacqueline Sexton, and she was a four. Her hair was pretty short, and she did look boyish, but she was still pretty.

For the last Selected, Penny invited my parents and little brother to Zuni's hat. My mom dug her hand deep into the hat and pulled out a form. She slowly unfolded it, the tension becoming thicker and thicker.

"Alexandrine Faye Quon, four," my parents read.

The last picture popped on the screens. Lady Alexandrine looked Asian, her hair was dark brown, her eyes a bit lighter the the color of her hair.

Her picture slowly faded, and the audience started to clap loudly.

"Well, those were the Selected! They will be coming to the palace in about a week, so stay tuned for next week's Report! Thank you, and good night!" Penny chanted.

The red velvet curtain closed, and the usual chaos behind it erupted.

Staff members started to take the hats, and the forms that were in them, away. A maid started to pick up the letters that had fallen on the floor, and Astrid started to help her.

"Nico! Adam!" Penny yelled. She had her arms full with Selected forms, which she practically dumped on us. We had to scramble to catch each form.

"Sorry for the rush, there's a huge problem with one of the camera's. I'll see you soon!" she said, already halfway across the room.

I glanced over at Adam. "Do you want these?"

"Uh, sure. I'll take them, if you don't want them."

A maid ran over to us to bring us a bag, which we put all the forms in. Adam swung it over his shoulder.

"So, how was it?" I asked. We started to walk back to our rooms.

Adam rubbed the back of his neck (it was a habit he had). "Better than I expected. I still didn't like it, and I didn't pay that much attention to the Selected. That's why I took the forms. I noticed there were a lot of high-caste young women though."

I groaned. "I know. Ruby must have done it."

"You can't blame Ruby for everything."

"Watch me."

* * *

 **So, these are the Selected! The chapter after next will be the Halloween Ball (there will be two chapters devoted to that ball).**

 **I tried to make a section on my Meant For You board about the halloween ball, but it was being really weird and I couldn't see any of the pins once I edited the description.**

 **Again, thank you for the reviews! They are all so sweet and nice. Also, I'm going to start putting in the name of whoever had the point of view at the top. Abizeau mentioned that it could be confusing, so I hope this helps!**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

_Adam's POV_

I lied on my bed. It was the day after the Selected had been picked, and all of the forms were on my bed. I hadn't been paying attention much to the actual picking, I was too nervous. Nico said it didn't show, but I was still skeptical.

I picked up one of the forms in front of me. It was for a girl named Lady Selene, from Dominica. I faintly remembered her photo from the Report, she was really pretty. Penny hadn't given us the photos, so I couldn't see them.

According to her form, she was an actress. One of her hobbies was self-defense training, so that was cool. She also said she spoke English, Spanish, and Italian, so that was cool. Nico and I both spoke Spanish, but not Italian.

The second form I picked up was for Lady Genevieve Lark, one of the two sixes in the Selection. She was a seamstress, and could speak French. One of her hobbies was science, which was interesting. I wondered how much she knew about it, considering she was a six. I wasn't saying that sixes weren't smart, just that they didn't have as many resources as other people in higher castes did.

Suddenly, the doors to my room burst open with a _bang_ , and Bree slid in. Like, literally. She was on her knees and everything, her arms thrown open. I flinched so hard I nearly fell off the bed.

"Bree!" I heard Ella yell from the hallway. "Oh my gosh!"

"Good morning, good morning, to you!" Bree sang, still on her knees. She got up, and flopped on my bed.

"Hey Adam," Ella said. She remained standing. "Are these the Selected?"

"Y-yeah," I answered. "I didn't really pay attention during the actual Selecting."

"Oh, okay. Penny dropped of the photos in my room for some reason, I can go get them. Can we join you?"

"Of course."

Ella quickly ran over to her room, which was across the hall. She brought a bag on slightly crinkled photos, all labeled with a name and number. Ella sat down next to me, crossing her legs.

Bree picked up one of the forms, and read it aloud. "Alexandrine Faye Quon. She's a four from Zuni. I like her name."

Ella quickly found her picture, and put it in front of us. She looked Asian, she was really pretty. Her brown hair had blonde highlights, and was slightly wavy. There was a small scar on her lip, and she was smiling.

"She's pretty, and seems nice," Bree said, already pulling out another form. "Oh, this is the Irish girl. Aisling o'Byrne. She's in school, and likes to read. She's learning the Ukulele, and speaks Irish Gaelic."

That was impressive. That language was almost lost to time, and there were barely any teachers to teach it. She probably learned it from her family, because she was Irish.

Ella put down her photo. She had fiery red hair, which I remembered from last night. It wasn't a sight that was easy to forget. Her eyes were narrowed, and there were no emotion in her eyes. That was strange. Not to brag, but everyone had always told me that I was good at reading people. I couldn't figure her out.

The next girl was Lady Izara, from Sumner. She was Ethiopian, and also Swendawish. It was a strange combination.

Bree whistled when Ella found her photo. "I remember her. She's really pretty, I love her hair and skin."

Ella glanced at the form. "She likes yoga. She doesn't look that calm though."

I agreed. Lady Izara was smiling flirtatiously, and I didn't like the almost hungry look in her big brown eyes. She did have really poofy, gorgeous hair though, and I couldn't deny that she was really pretty.

Bree grabbed another form. "Oohh, her!"  
"Who?"

"Evande Leventhorpe. She does charity and other stuff."

Ella and I both looked at Bree.

"How do you know this? You've never been one for politics," Ella said.

In response to this question, Bree sat up and pulled out her phone. A few quick taps later, she showed us an Instagram account.

"She has an Instagram! She's really famous, actually."

Ella grabbed Bree's phone, and started scrolling through the account. Most of the pictures were selfies, and her description linked a few charities and her Tumblr account. From what I could tell from her pictures, she had black hair and maybe brown eyes. She also seemed to like Harry Potter, which was awesome. It was one of my favorite book series.

"She looks like Lily," Ella mentioned.

"Who?"

Ella started looking through the photos, and pulled out a picture of a girl that looked very similar to Lady Evande. I recognized her, she had been at a few balls that we had hosted, but I didn't remember talking to her.

"She's your friend, right?" I asked.

"Yeah. Her moms are friends with my mom. We text a lot. I can't wait to see her!"

I smiled. With my friends and family happy, and all the Selected seeming nice enough, maybe the Selection wouldn't be so bad after all.

 _Six Days Later_

 _Astrid's POV_

The Selected were arriving.

It was a week after we had announced the Selected, and now they were here. In the palace.

I opened the doors to the makeover room. Most of the Selected were in there, although some were being shown to their rooms. Some were still arriving.

As the maids saw me, they all curtseyed. Most of the Selected also turned around to look at me. I could feel my face flushing. I would rather not be there, but my mom had asked me. She was so stressed with Henry, I didn't have the heart to say no to her.

"Good morning everybody," I said, trying to sound friendly. I self consciously tucked my blonde hair behind my ear.

I started to walk toward the Women's Room, everyone's eyes following me. I hunched my shoulders a bit, and tried to look smaller.

I finally reached the Women's Room, and sat down. A couple girls were already there, but the room was silent. I recognized Lady Carolina, Lady Riley, and Lady Alia (but there were some others there, who I didn't recognize).

I quietly observed all the girls there. I wasn't as good as Adam at reading people, but he had said I was okay at it, so I decided I would give it a shot.

Lady Carolina had her nose stuck up in the air. She was a four though, so she couldn't have been that rich. I couldn't read Lady Riley, but I did notice that she was talking to Lady Alia, who was smiling.

I felt my phone vibrate in my purse, so I pulled it out. Nico had sent me a text.

 **Nico: Hey sis. U with the Selected?**

 **Astrid: Yeah, why?**

 **Nico: Can u like, figure out what they're like? I know some are gonna act really fake around me and Adam, so I want to know who are the nice people.**

 **Astrid: I will, mom asked me to do something like that. Also, they might act fake around me as well. I'll still do it though.**

 **Nico: Oh yeah, I didn't think about that. Thanks a million, love u.**

 **Astrid: Love u too.**

I put my phone back in my purse, and looked up. To my surprise, I saw one of the Selected in front of me. Her blonde hair was pulled into a waterfall braid, and she was wearing a white floor-length dress that was held up by a golden strap that went over her left shoulder. She was really beautiful.

She curtseyed. "Good afternoon, Princess Astrid."

I stood up. "P-please, call me Astrid. And you are?"

"Cecelia Rhode. You can call me Lia, if you'd like."

"You're the stage actress from Dakota, right?"

Lia smiled. "Yep, that's me!"

We both sat down on the couch. She seemed like a nice person, I liked her already.

"So, how are you liking the palace so far?" I asked.

"I haven't seen that much of it at all, but it's really big and classy and beautiful. I can't imagine living here."

"You get used to it, I guess. I wouldn't know, I've lived here my whole life. I don't spend most of my free time in the palace, I prefer the gardens."

"I haven't seen them yet, are they nice?"

I stood up a little straighter, and a smile spread across my face. "They are really beautiful. Last year, we planted a Western Redbud, and it's been turning orange recently. It's really pretty. There are many other kinds of trees and plants in the gardens, you should go."

"The gardens do sound very pretty, I'll try to check them out."

The huge doors opened yet again, and the rest of the Selected entered the Women's Room. Along with them came Penny Fadaye, holding her usual clipboard.

"Will Ladies Cecelia, Yixin, Izara, Genevieve, and Rosanna please come with me?" she yelled, trying to be heard over all the talking.

"It was very nice to meet you," Lia said, grinning.

"You too, I hope you enjoy being here!"

Lia walked over to Penny, along with the four other girls. Rosanna quickly waved at me, and I waved back. We had met before, after all.

I looked around at all the new Selected. I noticed these two girls that looked very similar, I remembered them from the Report. They were at opposite ends of the room, and weren't even looking at each other. The curly-haired one was looking around the room, and smiling. The one with straight hair was going around talking to people. She was actually heading towards me.

She curtseyed low to the ground. "Good afternoon Your Majesty. It's an honor to meet you."

"You can call me Astrid if you'd like," I suggested, standing up yet again.

The women in front of me got up from her curtsey, and smiled at me. "Okay, Astrid. My name is Natalia. I just wanted to say hello, and tell you how amazing it is to be here. It's like a dream."

"I'm glad you like it. May I ask you a strange question?"

"Of course, you can ask me anything."

I pointed to the girl that looked like Lady Natalia, who was still looking around. "Are you related to her? You two look very much alike."

Lady Natalia frowned for a second, her facial features twisting. She quickly stopped frowning, and her face quickly became impossible to read.

"Yes, that's my twin Makenzie."

"You two live in different provinces though, and have different last names, if I remember correctly. Again, I'm sorry if it looks like I'm trying to pry."

"Don't worry, it's totally fine," she said. "Our parents are divorced, and to be honest, we aren't very close."

"Oh. I'm sorry about your parents."

"It's okay, it was a long time ago anyway."

Before I could change the subject, Penny walked back into the room and called the rest of the Selected out.

"Again, it was an honor to meet you," Lady Natalia said, curtseying again.

"It was great to meet you too, have a nice day."

Soon, all the Selected had left, so I was the only one in the Women's room. I left to, and headed toward Nico's room. I had some Selected to tell him about.

* * *

 **So, that's the chapter! I hope the first part wasn't to repetitive, I wanted to add Adam's opinion of some of the Selected in this chapter. On the bright side, we got Astrid's POV in this chapter, so that's good. I also don't own the song that Bree was singing, that was from Singing in the Rain.**

 **Again, thanks for reading! I love all of you!**


	7. Chapter 7

_Nicholas's POV_

I pulled the green cloak around me, and carefully fastened the pin. I ruffled my hair a bit, and then grinned at my reflection. My Halloween costume looked pretty good.

I walked out of my room, and saw Adam waiting for me. He was also wearing a green cloak, but his tunic under it what light colored. Mine were brown/maroon. I also wore something like a trench coat, and he wore a vest.

"Hey. You look good, the ladies are going to be all over you," I said, motioning to his costume.

His cheeks turned light pink. "T-thanks, I guess. You look pretty good to."

I looked around the hall for anyone else we knew, but no one else was there. I could hear giggles from Astrid's room though, and there were definitely two people in there.

"Are Ella and Addie in there?" I asked. I pointed at the door.

"Yeah. Helping each other into their costumes, I think. Addie talked to some of the Selected today, right?"

"Yeah. She talked to two of them, I think. Ladies Cecelia and Natalia. Hey, maybe the Lia thing is a theme!" I joked. Adam laughed awkwardly, and glanced at the floor.

"What'd she say about them?"

"Well, she said they were both pretty cool. Lady Natalia was talking to the other Selected, and had the proper mannerisms and everything. Lady Cecelia introduced herself to Addie, and was apparently really nice. Addie said it wasn't very tense in the room, which is good."

"I said what?"

My twin and I turned around to see my two sisters, both grinning ear-to-ear.

Astrid was wearing chainmail armour that almost looked golden. Her gloves were brown, and looked strong. Over the chainmail, she wore a dark red and brown chestplate. Her boots were tall and brown. One hand rested on her sword, which was in it's hilt, and the other hung by her side.

Ella wore a light green dress that reached the floor. The sleeves were long, and reached her knees. Her usually straight blonde hair was lightly curled, and fell in gentle waves. Her lips were glossy pink, and pulled up into a smile. A elaborate silver headpiece sat on her head.

"You two look awesome," I said. "I was talking about what you said about the Selected. Y'know, how their making friends and such?"

"Oh, that."

"You two look great to. The ladies are going to be throwing themselves at you, especially if they like books" Ella teased, punching me in the arm.

I rolled my eyes, grinning sheepishly. Adam just blushed pinker.

"Um, guys? Mom and dad are over there," Astrid pointed down the hall.

My mom and dad were walking down the hall together. My mom was holding little Henry, who was wearing a gray onesie, and held my dad's hand with the other hand.

My dad was wearing a long gray/blue robe. A satchel was slung across his shoulder, and a brown and gold belt was tied around his waist. His hat was the same color as his robe, and it was tall and pointy, like a witch's hat. He had a gray wig on, a fake beard, and was holding a tall wooden staff.

My mom was wearing a headpiece similar to Ella's, but it was golden instead of silver. Her dress was white, reached the floor, and had sleeves longer than her arms. The dress was decorated with gold thread, and a golden/clear fake gem.

"Hey! We haven't seen you all day!" my mom exclaimed. She and dad pulled us all into a hug.

"Hey mom, dad," I said.

"You kids look great," my dad added. "The maids did really well on the costumes."

"They really did," Ella agreed. We wriggled out of my mom's grip, who pretended to look disappointed, but still looked happy. She adjusted Henry, and grabbed my dad's hand again.

"We should probably get going," I shifted my weight from one foot to the other. "We don't want to keep the Selected waiting."

"Good idea. Come on guys, let's go," my dad said.

As we walked down the hall, my mom slowed down, and got closer to me and Adam. She had that look in her eye that meant she was going to ask us something.

"Are you two looking forward to meeting the Selected?"

I was right.

"Yeah, I am," I said, nodding. "Talking to them will be interesting. I would like to know their thoughts on us, the monarchy, and how we can do better. It will definitely be a new experience."

My mom laughed quietly. "I thought you would say something like that. Adam? What about you?"

Adam shrugged, looking at the floor. "Um, kind of. I guess? I don't really like to talk to people, so I'll probably mess up. So not that much. I'm sure they're nice people though, so I'll try to talk to them."

I nudged Adam, smiling. "Hey, there are probably going to be Selected that you'll like. And they'll like you. You shouldn't worry, you're going to do great!"

"Thanks. I'll try."

From high above us, I heard someone yell, "Do or do not, there is no try!"

I looked up, and saw Lena was sliding down the stair railing. Bree was right behind her. They slid past us, laughing hysterically. I rolled my eyes, but couldn't help but smile.

"What's up?" Bree deadpanned, which made Lena giggle.

"You two shouldn't slide down the banister, it's not proper," I heard Julie chide. She was walking down the stairs, her head held high.

"Don't be such a buzzkill," Lena said, fixing her fake beard. "We gotta go to the ball. Where's Zane and Eliza?"

"Right here girlie," Zane answered, wrapping his arm around Lena's waist. She rolled her eyes, and pushed his arm of.

"I believe you should address me as Gimli."

Every year, our family tried to do a group costume for Halloween. It was hard, because of the size of our family, but we usually managed it. This year, we were all characters from Lord of the Rings. I was Frodo, Adam was Samwise, Astrid was Eowyn, Ella was Arwen, dad was Gandalf, mom was Galadriel, little Henry was Gollum, Zane was Aragorn, Eliza was Boromir, Julie was Legolas, Lena was Gimli, and Bree was Sauron. Most of the girls had to dress as male characters, considering the lack of female characters in LOTR, but they mostly didn't mind.

Zane wore brown/black leather, a dark cloak, and casually held a sword in one hand. Eliza had a black leather chestplate-thing on over a red and gold tunic, and a horn hung from her shoulder. Julie wore her hair down, and she wore a green top. She had a quiver swung over her shoulder, and held a bow. Lena wore a fake beard, a silver helmet. She wore orange/brown battle armour, and held two large battle axes. Bree probably looked the funniest, even though she wore large spiked metal armor she was still petite. She had her helmet under her arm.

"You guys look good," Bree said. "I still think I look better though, but you guys look okay."

She flipped her blonde hair, even though it was short, which made everyone laugh. I was glad she and the rest of our cousins were going to stay for the Selection.

"Come on everybody, let's go in," Julie said impatiently, tapping her foot.

"Okay, okay, hold your horses," Zane laughed.

My dad walked over to the door, my mom behind him. He opened up the door, and ushered her in.

"Awwww," Ella whispered.

We all entered after my parents. Bree entered first, which must have been a shock for all the politicians and other governmental figures inside, considering she looked like a monster in her armour.

Many of the people in the room were dressed up, but not as elaborate as us, which I took pride in. The Selected entered shorty after us, which was strange, but convenient. Some of them looked over at us, and I grinned at them. Their reactions were mixed, some blushed and looked away, some grinned back.

As soon as all the Selected entered the room, the music started, and many people took to the dance floor. Most of the squad walked over to the food tables, which had huge bowls of candy and other desserts. Adam was going to follow them, but I grabbed his arm. He turned around, already looking nervous.

"What?"

"You can't avoid the Selected forever. Come on, there has to be someone you are interested in talking to."

My twin looked around, his eyes darting from one side of the room to the other. Suddenly, he focused on one girl, who was even shorter than Bree. She was wearing Hogwarts robes, and talking excitedly to another Selected.

"Her. I'll talk to her," he said, sounding a bit uneasy.

"She looks nice," I guessed, making a mental note to talk to her later. I slapped my twin on the back, which almost made him stumble. "Go get em, tiger!"

He shot a particularly good glare at me, and then walked up to talk to her. I smiled, it was good that Adam was talking to strangers, even if I had to make him do it.

I looked around the ballroom, trying to find someone who I should talk to. There was a woman standing near me, who stood with her back straight and head high. She had very good posture, but a slightly haughty look on her face. I decided I would go talk to her.

I walked toward her, and caught her eye. She immediately dropped into a very good curtsy, bowing her head.

"My prince, it is an honor to meet you," she said. I noticed she had a British accent, which was strange, but kind of cool.

"Please, call me Nicholas. Or Nico, either one is fine. You are Lady Carolina, right?"

She got up, and smiled at me. "Yes, but please call me Cora."

"You look beautiful tonight. Is your costume a peacock, I can't tell."

Cora nodded, standing a little straighter. She was wearing a large ball gown, which was green, gold, and turquoise. On what looked like the back of the gown, there was a fan of peacock feathers.

"Yes, it is. They are beautiful animals, are they not?" she answered with a question of her own.

"They are beautiful, a bit scary, but beautiful," I admitted. She giggled, which made me smile.

"What do you do?" I asked her. She tilted her head.

"What do you mean?"

"What's your job? Forgive me, I don't remember."

She tucked one lock of her short hair behind her ear. "I work in my family's jewelry-making business. It's called Jasmine Jewels: Made Especially For You."

I whistled, impressed. "Jewelry-making. That's fascinating, must be hard."

"I've had lots of practice. I'm very precise," she said, sounding proud.

"You'll have to show me sometime."

"I would be honored to."

I quickly glanced around the ballroom. "I apologize, but I have to end the conversation here. I have many other girls to talk to before the night ends."

She gave me a little nod, smiling elegantly. "Of course. It was an honor to meet you, Nicholas."

"You too, Cora."

The music had changed as I was talking to Cora, and now it was a more pop-style song. Some of the Selected had started dancing, including a blonde girl to my right. She was dressed as a fairy, and her pink skirt swished as she swayed to the music.

"Do you like the song?" I asked.

The girl turned around, a wide grin on her face. "Yeah! It's awesome!"

She met my eyes, and her grey ones widened. She curtseyed.

"Prince," she said.

"Please, call me Nico. What's your name?"

"Camilla Sinclair. From Allens. You can call me Cam, if you want. I love the party!"

I already liked her, she had spirit. "I'm glad you are liking it. I personally think that not enough people are having fun though. Everyone is to serious."

Her smile widened, in an almost impish way. "I agree. I'm sure the palace is nice and all, but it's so quiet. I don't wanna be rude, but it seems almost bland sometimes. I haven't been here long though, so I don't really know much about the place."

"My home can be a bit boring sometimes, but I guarantee you, with all the Selected here, the palace will get busy real fast," I said, smiling in spite of myself. "It was great to meet you, Cam."

"You to, Nico. We'll talk later?"

"Of course."

Cam started to dance again as I walked away. So far, the Selected seemed pretty cool. But then again, I had only talked to two people.

Unfortunately, the next couple Selected I talked to were boring, and just didn't interest me. One of them (Lydia, one of the redheads) was just plain rude. Thousands of girls in Denbeigh, and she got picked.

I hoped the other redhead, Lady Aisling, was nicer. I wanted to talk to her, and luckily, she was near me. She was swaying to the beat, but not dancing.

"Good evening," I greeted, loud enough to get her attention. She spun around on her heel, her expression almost bored. Her eyes, which almost looked white in the light, seemed to widen, but I couldn't tell.

"Good evening, Prince Nicholas," she said. "I would curtsy, but as you see, I'm not exactly able to."

I chuckled. Like Cam, I already liked her. She seemed better than Lydia, at least. "I can see that. You're costume is awesome, by the way. The Avengers might be an old franchise, but it's awesome."

With her short red hair, Lady Aisling looked almost exactly like Black Widow. She wore the black bodysuit, and even had fake (I hope) weapons strapped to her.

"Thanks, your costume is great too, " she commented. "Frodo Baggins. I love Lord of the Rings."

"It's a great series. My whole family came as characters."

"I noticed. I like the Legolas costume. And the Eowyn one. Your family's costumes are really detailed."

"We try. Well, not me. I can't sew or anything," I said.

"I wouldn't expect you to," she said, crossing her arms, but not in a judgemental way.

I smiled at her, and bowed. "It was nice talking to you. I would say your name, but I don't know how to pronounce it right."

"It's pronounced Ash-ling," she told me.

"Okay, Lady Aisling."

"Ditch the Lady part. It's to proper."

"Aisling then. Great to meet you."

"You too."

I noticed her facial expression hadn't changed throughout the conversation, which was weird. She seemed almost emotionless, but that was impossible.

Aisling walked over to one of the food table, and I turned around to find another Selected to talk to. Luckily, there was one right in front of me. Unluckily, I slammed into her, and almost knocked her over.

"I-I'm so sorry," I stammered, grabbing her hand to steady her. She looked up at me, her curly brown hair bouncing. She smiled flirtatiously at me.

"Nicholas," she said smoothly, batting her eyelashes once or twice. She curtseyed, "It's an honor to meet you."

"Please, call me Nico. There's no need to curtsy. You are Lady Izara, am I wrong?"

"You are correct, Nico," she answered. "But call me Iz. The lady part might be nice, but it's stiff."

"I couldn't agree more."

I noticed she had dropped a fake arrow, so I bent to pick it up.

"You dropped this, Iz," I handed her the arrow, and when she took it, our hands brushed. Her hands were soft.

"Thank you. You're such a gentlemen," she purred. She fixed her dress, still looking at me.

"And you are dressed as cupid. It suits you, you look beautiful."

Her smile widened, and she took a small step toward me. The red wings she wore moved as she moved toward me. "You look handsome."

"Many thanks," I took her hand, and kissed it. "Have a good evening, Iz."

"You to, Nico."

She walked past me, her shoulder brushing against mine. She was pretty flirty, which I kind of liked.

I talked to a couple other Selected after my encounter with Izara. Ladies Riley and Giselle seemed to have made friends, which was cool. I learned that Lady Alexandrine's (Alexa) parents owned a famous hotel chain, and she owned one of the hotels. She seemed a bit hostile toward me though, and I couldn't figure out why.

I was standing by the punch bowl when I saw one of the Selected slip in front of me. I quickly grabbed her around her torso, and pulled her up. She was one of the twins, but I couldn't figure out which one.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

Before she answered my question, she dropped into a deep curtsy, bowing her head. "Thank you, my lord."

Wow, lord was a new one. I hadn't heard that before her.

"There's no need for that, call me Nico," I said, waving like I was clearing away smoke. "What's your name?"

"Natalia Ignacia. It's an honor."

"Again, there's no need to be courteous. It's kind of awkward. Are you having fun?"

"I am. The palace is huge though, it's all a bit overwhelming."

"Don't worry, all of this," I waved like I was trying to clear away smoke, "will calm down. And there are many people to ask if you need any help getting around, including me."

She smiled, which made her look pretty. "You are very kind. You must have many people to talk to, so I'll get out of your way."

"I do have many people to talk to, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy talking to you," I shrugged.

Her smile widened, and she looked over her shoulder and waved as she walked away. I waved back at her. She was pretty nice, and I noticed that she was talking to a lot of the Selected.

The next Selected I talked to was Lady Yixin. She was from Ottaro, and her hair had changed since I saw her picture on the Report. It was now wine red. She had been pretty flirty with me, even more then Iz had.

"Your father works for the New Asian Embassy, right?"

Yixin rolled her eyes. "Yeah, he does. I don't talk to him that much, though."

After briefly talking to Rosanna, I spotted Lady Alia walking around the outskirts of the room. She was alone, and eating a fruit tart. I walked up to her.

"Like the food?"

She flinched, surprised, and almost dropped her tart. Lady Alia turned around, met my eye, and actually did drop it. I caught it before it hit the floor, and handed it to her.

"Y-Your Majesty!" she stuttered, and curtseyed.

"If I had a dollar everytime someone said that, I could probably buy the moon," I joked. "Call me Nico. Want your tart, because I might just eat it if you don't take it back."

She giggled, blushing a little in embarrassment. Lady Alia took her tart back, and quickly finished it.

"It's really good," she said, grinning.

"I'm glad. Are you enjoying it here?"

"Yes, the palace is beautiful! It's really big though, I'm not sure how you find your way around," she answered.

"You get used to it, after a while. I can't really say that though, since I grew up here. I can always help you, if you need it."

"I probably will, thanks."

The music abruptly changed, from a pop-ish song to a song that was slower. I offered Lady Alia my hand.

"Would you like to dance, Lady Alia?"

Her face turned red, but she nodded. "Y-yes."

She took my hand, and we walked out onto the dance floor.

"I don't really know how to dance," she admitted, looking at the floor.

"Don't worry, most people don't know how," I said. I grabbed her hand, and put it on my shoulder, and held her other hand in the air. I put one hand on her waist, which made her tense up, but she relaxed.

"I like your costume, you look really cute," I mentioned as we started dancing. Her cheeks turned pink. She was wearing an Alice in Wonderland costume, and her blue skirt twirled as we danced.

"Thank you. I really like yours to, Lord of the Rings is a great series."

I officially liked her better now that I knew she liked LOTR.

"It was the only thing my whole family could agree on," I said, cracking a smile. "We aren't as proper as Illea thinks."

"I don't think any family is, to be honest."

I chuckled. "You have a point. So, you're from Columbia, right?"

She nodded, and I went on. "What's it like?"

"It's pretty nice. It doesn't get that hot or cold, and rains a lot in winter. I like rain, it's relaxing."

"I do to. It doesn't rain enough in Angeles. I like the weather here, but the heat can get boring."

Alia was really sweet and talkative, I liked her. The song was over before we knew it, and we walked of the dance floor.

"This was really fun," she said.

"Yeah, it was. It was very nice to meet you, I have to talk to other people, but I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Okay!" she exclaimed, obviously happy. It made me smile.

With the way it was going, the Selection was going to be amazing.

* * *

 **Hi everyone! Nico had officially met some of the Selected! Adam's experience will be in the next chapter. I do not own any of the franchises mentioned in this chapter, although I love many of them.**

 **There is a poll on my profile, for Nico's first date, so please go and vote on that! I will put up Adam's poll after that, so stay tuned for that (god I'm so cringey).**

 **Anyway, I'm not sure when I'll next update, so yeah. Thank you all for reading and reviewing, and have an amazing day!**


	8. Chapter 8

_When the ball started_

 _Adam's POV_

You can do this, I told myself. Just talk about Harry Potter. She's wearing the robes, so she's probably a fan. She looks nice. You can do this.

I took a deep breath, and exhaled. I tried to smile, and walked up to the girl. She was pretty short, shorter than Bree. The two girls did look similar, they both had blonde hair, except Bree's was longer than the Selected's.

The Selected was going around talking to other people. She looked like she was having fun, there was a goofy grin on her face.

I took another deep breath, and walked up to her. Be positive.

"G-good evening," I said, mentally kicking myself for stuttering.

She turned around, sugar cookie in hand. She saw me, and dropped into a slightly clumsy curtsy.

"Prince Adam," she said. She got out of the curtsy, and stuck her hand out. "I'm Joy Johnson. Call me Joy. Apparently there's this whole Lady title, but I think it's too proper."

"I agree with you, Joy. I get tired of being called Prince. Not blaming you for calling me that, I just don't like the title that much. Like you don't like the Lady title. And I'm rambling now, sorry."

Joy shrugged. "I ramble sometimes too. Especially about the stuff I like."

"Do you like Harry Potter?" I asked, trying to sound casual.

Her green eyes brightened with excitement and happiness. "Yeah! I love Harry Potter! It was one of my favorite book series when I was a child. Well, it's still one of my favorite series. My favorite character's Ginny, who's yours?"

"Neville. Ginny's awesome though. Are you dressed as a character, or just a Gryffindor?"

"Just a Gryffindor. I consider myself a Gryffindor Hufflepuff hybrid, but that costume would be really complicated. So I just decided I would dress as a Gryffindor. Do you like my costume?"

"I do, it's really cool. You look beautiful," I told her. She giggled, smiling.

"Thanks! Your costume is pretty cool, what is it?"

"Samwise Gamgee. From Lord of the Rings."

"Oh, that's cool. I'm not the biggest reader, but I like reading. Do you think I should read Lord of the Rings?"

"Oh, yeah! It's really good, lots of action and excitement. It's really original, although there aren't that many female characters, which is bad. But it's a good book," I answered.

She made a face, which was kind of cute. "Oh. I'll check it out then, though I'm not too excited about the lack of female characters."

There was an awkward moment of science.

"Talking to you was fun!" Joy piped up, grabbing more sugar cookies. I flinched slightly at the unexpected noise.

"Yeah. It was cool," I said quickly. "I, um, have to talk to others tonight. Sorry."

"Oh, okay. See you later then!"

Joy was a nice girl, and the interaction had gone better than expected. It gave me a bit of confidence I was lacking before.

"Adam!"

I immediately recognized Ella's voice, and turned around. She, Astrid, and one of the Selected ran over to me.

"This is Lilia. Her moms are friends of Aunt Brynn," Ella said.

Lilia had black hair, which framed her small face, and big brown eyes. She wouldn't meet my eye, and stumbled over her words.

"H-hi Your Highness," she stammered. "It's an honor."

She looked incredibly nervous, which was pretty much how I felt.

"Call me Adam," I said. "I don't like all of the proper titles."

Astrid and Ella left us alone, whispering madly. We just stood there for a minute, in a silence that I was all too familiar with.

"What do you do? What's your job?"

I usually wasn't the one starting the conversation, but I was desperate to stop the awkward silence.

"I'm a beautician," she said, her nervousness dissipating. "I do makeup! It's really fun, and I know a lot about it. I don't do hair though."

"Oh, that must make this whole Selection a lot easier. Because you are used to makeup. Others might not be, but you are. You can even fix your makeup. It's a useful skill, you'll definitely use it."

Before I could keep rambling like an idiot, Ella and Astrid ran back up to us.

"Come on Loom, I gotta introduce you to Bree," Ella exclaimed excitedly, grabbing her hand and pulling her along. Astrid waved at me, and ran after the other two. I smiled, happy my siblings were having fun.

Now I had to go talk to another Selected. I thought I should talk to someone social, and hope they do most of the talking. I noticed a blonde girl who had been talking to another Selected, and she was near me, so I decided to approach her.

"Hello," I said, a little too quietly. I couldn't tell if she hadn't heard me (or was just ignoring me, but she didn't seem the type to ignore someone), so I said the same thing, but loader. This time she turned around, looking curious.

"Hi, I'm Cecelia-" she started of, her voice dying in her throat. Half a second passed, and then she curtseyed. She was the girl who had talked to Astrid.

"Sorry Your Highness," she mumbled. "I didn't notice you were . . . you."

"It's fine. Please call me Adam though, I don't like titles. I would say more, but I would be babbling. And that's awkward. I'll stop now."

Cecelia tilted her head a bit, smiling a little. "Okay, I'll call you Adam then. You should call me Lia."

"Oh, okay," I said, playing with my cloak.

"Are you dressed as a Lord of the Rings character?"

"Y-yeah. No one's figured that out before," I mentioned, pleasantly surprised.

"Well, I love to read. Lord of the Rings is a really good book. Maybe I should have dressed as a book character," she wondered out loud. "I'm an angel, if you haven't noticed."

Cecelia wasn't talking about herself, she was talking about her costume. She was wearing a long white dress, with wings and a halo. Her blonde hair was half up (in some kind of braid) and half down.

"I did notice, yeah. You look great."

She giggled (which sounded really cute), doing a little twirl. It was impressive, since she was also wearing white heels that were at least one inch high.

"How can you walk in those shoes?"

It had been at least a second before I realized I had said that out loud.

"I'm a stage actress," she answered. "I have to walk and dance around in heels and dresses a lot. It's a good skill."

"Yeah, sounds like one. There's another Selected who has a skill like yours. Lilia. By that, I mean useful. She can do makeup. Makeup and being able to move in heels are both useful skills."

I internally screamed as Cecelia nodded. "Yeah, that seems like a good skill. Maybe I should talk to her, ask her some tips."

"She's with my sister, if you want to talk to her."

"Okay. I met your sister. She's really nice. You two seem very close."

"We are. My whole family is actually pretty close. I mean,my parents are busy people, but they make time," I told her.

"That's great! I'm really close to my mom and brother," she said enthusiastically, smiling.

"What about your dad?"

A flash of hurt appeared in her pretty brown eyes, and I cringed inwardly.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have asked that. I'm really sorry."

She shrugged, smiling, but still looked hurt. 'It's okay. You didn't know we aren't close."

I looked away from her, wrapping my hand in my cloak.

'I'll talk to you later, I guess," I eventually said, not meeting her eye. She still grinned anyway.

"Yeah. I look forward to it."

I doubted that.

I went to grab a glass of punch and some candy. I quickly downed the punch, and leaned against the table. I didn't like social interactions, and it was even worse when I was talking to girls I might marry. I would rather avoid this whole thing, and read a book, but I couldn't. It would be good if the Selected could introduce themselves to me, but I doubted that would happen.

"Adam, hey!"

I recognized the voice. It wasn't a Selected, but my cousin. Lena sauntered up to me, a champagne glass filled to the top in one hand. The other hand was on her hip.

"Whatcha doin?"

I shrugged, eating some of my candy. Lena leaned against the table with me.

"Aren't you supposed to be talking to the Selected?"

"Yeah. I'm taking a break," I said.

She bumped me with her shoulder, somehow making sure her drink didn't spill. "Come on, it can't be that bad. Just go say hi, ask a few questions, and do that over and over again. You'll really get to know them later, when you two are alone together."

"It's not that easy," I sighed. "You're social. I'm just not."

"You talked to a few girls, right? How did that go?"

I quickly ran the three experiences I had experienced through my head, cringing internally.

"The first one went okay. The second one was really awkward, and the third one was going well until I brought up another Selected and her father, who she isn't close to," I explained.

Lena actually did cringe. Outwardly. "Okay, maybe you haven't done that well yet. But I'm going to help you. I'm pretty good at flirting."

To help her argument, she winked at me and did finger guns.

"Just tell the girl who you're talking to hi, and then ask her how she's been. Tell her she's beautiful. Ask her what she likes to do, and then tell her it was nice talking to her. It's that simple."

"That's not simple!" I exclaimed, a bit louder then I expected.

Lena rolled her eyes playfully, and tapped her finger on her fake beard. I could almost hear the mechanics whirring in her head.

"Okay," she said slowly. "How about this. I'll introduce you to that girl over there."

She pointed to the other side of the ballroom. The girl had a pirate costume on, and was looking around the room. Her brown hair was curly, and spilling out of her hat. Her costume included a black coat, that was red inside, black gloves, and tall black boots. She looked really cool.

"She's really nice, come on!" Lena grabbed my hand, and pulled me across the ballroom. "Hey, Kenzie!"

The girl, who was probably Lady Mackenzie Stone, turned around. She smiled, and waved at us. I blushed.

"This is my cousin, Adam," she said.

"Adam. Nice to meet you, I'm Mackenzie," she stuck her hand out, and I took it.

I was pretty surprised she just called me Adam. Most people would tack on a title on the beginning, but she didn't. It was nice.

"N-nice to meet you," I echoed. "Do you like the castle?"

I saw Lena smile at me in the corner of my eye. I also saw Kenzie's smile widen, and her warm brown eyes brighten.

"Yeah! It's gorgeous, it must have taken so long to design and build. There's so much detail! The chandlers in this room are really pretty, and so are the towers I saw on the way here. I love 'em!"

Her little rambling about my home made me smile, for some reason I couldn't understand.

"I could show you around the castle sometime. To see the best places. Well, places that I like. If you don't want to, that would be okay to," I babbled. She beamed at me, which made my stomach leap into my throat.

"That would be really awesome! I would love to look at this beautiful place."

"Are you an architect?" I asked her.

She paused, her hand that were waving around in the air stopped moving.

"No. Farm hand."

"Oh," I said. "T-t-that's nice. You must get a lot of fresh air! And sun! Sounds fun."

I nodded, trying to smile and save myself.

"It is! I love being outside. I do love a nice building though," Kenzie stated.

"Hey, I know you must get this question a lot, but are you related to Natalia Ignacia? You two look alike, but you have different last names. And castes," Lena butted in. Kenzie's smile immediately disappeared.

"She's my twin," she answered flatly.

"You don't like her very much, do you?" I guessed. "Y-you stopped smiling."

She nodded, her eyes narrowing. "I hate her. She's manipulating, you shouldn't trust her. You'll want to, but don't. She's a liar and a horrible person."

I blinked in surprise. Kenzie had just been a nice, excited, sweet person. Lady Natalia must have been a pretty bad person.

"Okay. I'll remember that."

No one spoke for a moment, and then Lena elbowed me in the side.

"It was nice talking to you, K-kenzie."

"Great talking to you to, Adam."

Lena and I walked of. I quickly realized I was smiling, which surprised me.

"You enjoyed that, didn't you?"

"Yeah," I said. "That was actually really nice."

"I thought so," Lena agreed. "Ooh, there's someone else I want you to meet."

Lena's probably talked to more people at this ball then you would try to, a voice in the back of my head whispered. I pushed it down, and followed her over to another Selected.

"Adam, meet Lady Evadne!" Lena exclaimed.

Lady Evadne looked a lot like Lilia, though I doubted they were related. Her hair was dark brown, and curled, so it fell in waves. Even though she was from Hudson, her skin was tanned, and her eyes were dark brown. She was dressed as Wonder Woman, and her costume was really good. Whatever material her maids used to make the gold, red, and blue costume, it looked remarkably like metal. She wore tall boots, handguards, the golden tiara/headband thing, and a lasso hung from her hip. A sword was strapped to her back.

I faintly remembered she was from the Leventhorpe family, which apparently was huge. Nico knew more about the scandal than me, but from what he had told me a couple days ago, the family was behind big investment scams and corruption. Another thing that had popped into my head was her Instagram account. She volunteered at charities. She couldn't be a bad person if she volunteered at charities.

"My prince," she greeted respectively, doing a perfect little curtsy.

I shifted my weight from one foot to another, which she noticed.

"Would you rather me call you Adam?"

"Yeah, actually."

"Okay. Call me Vad."

Lena butted in for the second time that evening. "I'm going to go talk to Bree, and leave you two alone. See ya!"

She skipped away, leaving us in silence.

"Are you uncomfortable?" Vad asked me, one hand on her hip.

"Um, y-yeah. I guess that's not too hard to spot," I chuckled, scratching the back of my head. "I don't like big events like this. You seem nervous too."

"I do?"

"Yeah. I mean, you don't show it. But I can tell. Sorry if that sounds weird, I'm just good at reading people. Oh, that sounded like bragging. My friends tell me that I'm good at reading people. That's how I could tell," I rambled.

She nodded. "Some people tell me that to. That I'm good at reading people. And yes, you're right. I'm nervous."

"Can I ask why? You don't have to answer."

She shrugged. "I have nothing to hide. My family-well, my dad mostly-aren't good people. I'm usually lumped together with the rest of them. But I'm not evil. Well, I used to be a huge b*tch before. There's nothing like a good fall from grace and a family scandal to make you realize you were one."

I laughed at that point, which made her laugh. Vad was honest, I liked that.

"You aren't a bad person. You volunteer at charities," I said.

Her eyebrows raised. "You know about that."

"Uh, yeah. My cousin Bree, she knows your Instagram. She showed it to me. So I'm not a stalker."

She grinned at that comment. "You don't seem like a stalker. Can we just skip all of the pleasantries and stuff, and be friends?"

"Yeah! I mean, that sounds really cool."

She stuck out her hand, and looked up at me. I took her hand, and we shook. Her handguard was actually made of real metal.  
"We'll talk later, right?"

"Yeah," I answered.

We parted ways. Lena appeared next to me yet again.

"She's great, isn't she? I thought you would like her."

"You were right," I said. "You're good at this."

"You'll get better," she began. "Besides, you're lucky. Most of the Selected I talked to are nice people. I mean, they could just be trying to suck up, but I've also seen them talk to others the same way they talked to me."

"Most of the Selected are really pretty too," she added, a mischievous grin on her face. "It's too bad I can't date any of them. They're cute."

I chuckled. My father had made it so if the Selected had a romantic relationship with someone else, they would just be eliminated. It was much better than the law beforehand, where they would be caned in public. The thought that that could happened to Uncle Tristan and Aunt Chrystal ran through my mind, and made me shudder.

Talking to Rosie Symmes was fun. I had met her before, so it was easier to talk to her then with the other Selected. She was a swimmer, and a really happy, sweet person. I was glad that someone I knew was in the Selection. Lady Alexis (who had told me to call her Alex) seemed a bit uncomfortable, but was overall pretty nice. I liked her.

I was looking around for Selected to talk to (and yet somehow still dreading talking to them, I didn't really know how that worked). I saw a girl who was wearing a black dress with a red cloak. Her face was covered by the hood, but when she looked up, I met her eyes. They were a stunning light green. I couldn't bring myself to look away.

I took a deep breath, and walked over to the girl. As I got closer, I saw that she had blonde hair, and her eyes were narrowed. I gulped. She was kind of scary.

"Good e-evening," I greeted her. "I'm Adam."

"I know."

I paused, not sure what to say to her. She seemed hostile, but I got the feeling she was more then that. She was definitely closed off.

"What's your name?" I asked uneasily.

"Olympia Archer. Pleasure," she said in a clipped tone.

"Do you like the ball?"

"Not particularly."

For some reason that made me want to laugh, even though I was kind of scared. She was bold.

"You have all these riches, why don't you use them to help people instead of throwing parties?" she added. "It's silly."

I shrugged, speechless for a minute. "Um, well, I guess people like watching us? You have a point, we should be helping more lower caste people with this money. I'm not that into politics. My brother is. And my dad. They are trying to help, although me saying that probably doesn't change your mind. I don't know how to help, I like to read, not discuss politics. I'm not going to be king either, I don't have that much of a say."

She met my eyes with those stunning green ones of her's. "Your a prince. You're a Schreave. Of course you have a say."

Yet again, I found myself speechless. I broke eye contact, looking at the floor. We stayed quiet for a few moments.

After I found my voice again, I spoke, "I suppose your right. I'll try harder. You should talk to my brother about this stuff. H-he loves politics, and talking about it. He can go on for hours with the right people. Not with me though. Like I said, I don't know much about the topic."

"I might talk to him then."

"Okay. That sounds good. For you, I mean. Fun," I mumbled. "Well, um, it was nice talking to you?"

She turned her head, looked me in the eye, and said, "You too." And I knew she meant it.

That had been a strange conversation. I hadn't expected it. I was pretty sure Olympia was a two, or just a high caste in general. But she cared about the poor. I mean, many high caste people cared about the poor, but many didn't. She was also bold, and had said things I didn't think the Selected would say. I got the feeling my twin would enjoy talking to her.

I glanced around the ballroom, wondering who I was going to talk to next. I quickly found Nico, talking to a girl with wine red hair. I couldn't find the rest of my family/friends.

I also spotted a girl who had to be one of the Selected. She was dressed in a red trench coat, and something like a red leotard underneath it. Her black boots were tall, and a yellow scarf hung from her neck. She held a silver briefcase, and her black hat was tipper downward. I couldn't see her face, but even so, she turned heads. Her costume was really cool, and I kind of wanted to talk to her.

I walked over to her slowly, not wanting to surprise her. Her eyes flicked over to me, and she curtseyed. She didn't miss a beat.

"Your highness," she said.

"Adam. C-call me Adam. Who are you?"

I wanted to cringe at how disrespectful I sounded, but she didn't seem to notice.

She came out of her curtsy, and adjusted her hat so I could see her face. Her skin was smooth and brown, like caramel.

"Selene Lucia. It's an honor," she murmured, sounding cold but polite.

"I like your costume. What are you dressed as?"

"Carmen Sandiego. She's from an old franchise, you probably haven't heard of her. What are you?" she answered, asking a question in the process.

"Samwise Gamgee. He's a character from one of my favorite books, Lord of the Rings. It's really old, you probably haven't heard of it either. It's really good though," I explained.

"I see. I might read it then."

Selene grabbed a piece of strawberry candy, and started to eat it. She seemed cold and aloof, but there was more to her then that. I could feel it. She also seemed hopeful, for some reason.

"What do you like to do?"

She looked up at me. Her brown eyes covered up her emotions well. "I like to act. And do yoga."

"Yoga sounds pretty relaxing. I've never tried it. I think my sister knows something about it though. I should ask her. . ." I shut my mouth before I could say any other stupid comment.

"It is relaxing," she got this look in her eye, almost bitter and kind of sad, but it disappeared quickly.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine. Why do you ask?"

"You just seemed mad for a second," I said, hoping I wasn't prying. "Sorry."

"I'm okay. Thanks for asking though."

I just stood there, not saying anything. Selene was intimidating, and commanded attention. I wasn't sure what to say.

"I-I have to talk to others. And do stuff. And some other things. This was fun?" I stammered awkwardly.

"It was a pleasure," she said, nodding.

That had been awkward. Selene had seemed icy, but I knew she was more then that. I wanted to talk to her, but didn't at the same time.

I was broke out of my train of thought when I saw a Selected in front of me. She was scowling, and it seemed like her blue dress was caught on something. I jogged up to her, knelt down, and fixed her dress.

"Thanks," she said. Our eyes met, and she curtseyed once she recognized who I was.

"Prince," she muttered, light sarcasm laced into her voice. "I'm Genevieve Lark."

"Oh, um, call me Adam," I said. I heard a slow song start to play, and decided to take a risk. "Would you like to dance?"

She said yes, although it seemed like she didn't want to. I took her hand, which was actually pretty rough, and we walked out onto the dance floor.

"What's your costume?" I asked her.

"Marie Curie," she said, no emotion in her voice.

"Oh, the scientist. A-are you interested in science?"

She nodded, but she definitely liked it more then she let on. She was a six, learning about science would be very hard, even for smart people.

"I'm not that interested in science, no offense. My sister is the one who likes it, really. She likes nature. I do to, but not as much as she does," I mentioned.

"You're dressed as Samwise Gamgee," she pointed out, probably trying to change the subject. I twirled her, her skirt fanning out beautifully.

"Yeah. I really like Lord of the Rings. What about you?"

"It is a good book."

Genevieve seemed cold, but like Selene, there was something behind it. They were both interesting people. I would have liked to get to know them both.

"Are you enjoying the palace? I know you haven't seen much of it though, so I guess you don't know much about it yet. What do you think?"

"It's beautiful," she replied stiffly. I could see disdain in her eyes, and I knew she wasn't telling me something. I didn't say anything, I didn't want to make Genevieve uncomfortable.

"I'm glad you like my house. Well, calling it a house is incorrect. It's bigger than most houses."

"Yeah, it is," she almost spat.

We spent the rest of the short dance in silence,and then left the dance floor.

"T-Thanks for the dance. It was fun," I said.

"Yeah, it was," she said, sounding a bit cold. I didn't know if she liked me that much.

With the way the Selection was going for me, I wasn't sure if it was going to be an amazing experience.

* * *

 **Hello! The Halloween ball is over, and there is a poll on my profile for Adam's first date! Please check that out and vote if you haven't already! Also, if I portrayed your characters incorrectly, please tell me so I can fix whatever I'm doing wrong.**

 **Just a quick question, do you guys think I should do something for Thanksgiving, or would that be an extinct holiday in Illea? I just really like writing about holidays, so expect a Christmas one!**

 **A big thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing, have a magnificent day!**


	9. Chapter 9

_After the ball_

 _Nico's POV_

After the ball, we all went back to our rooms to change out of our costumes. They were cool to wear, but getting out of them was nice.

Even though the day had been kind of exhausting, I couldn't sleep. It was probably because of the day's excitement, my mind was still whirring. It was the perfect time to do paperwork, but I had finished it all earlier.

I turned in my bed a few times, groaned in frustration, and sat up in bed. I pulled out my phone, and pinged of a quick text to my twin. I knew Adam, he was going to be just as awake as I was.

I was starting to read a news article when my phone vibrated. Sure enough, Adam was awake.

Nico: Wanna talk? I can't sleep.

Adam: Yeah. I can't sleep either.

I got out of my bed and my room, shivering at the sudden cold. I padded over to Adam's room, and knocked on the door. He opened it, weary-eyed.

"Hey," he yawned. He was more tired than I thought he would be.

"Evening," I said, grinning. "Whatcha up to?"

"Nothing, really. Just lying down and staring at the ceiling. What about you?"

"Same thing."

I walked into Adam's room, and he closed the door. I noticed the paper bag of Selection forms by his bed, but it didn't look like he had been looking at them.

"How was the ball?" I asked him.

"What do you mean?"

"Did you like it? Who'd you talk to? Who'd you like? How was it, in general?"

We both sat down on his bed, and Adam scratched the back of his head nervously. "It was okay, I guess? I thought it was going to go worse than it did, that's for sure. I met some nice people."

"Like who? Talk to me, I wanna know who has your stamp of approval."

My brother shrugged. "I liked Joy. She liked Harry Potter, which was awesome. Evande was pretty nice and honest to."

I blinked in surprise.

"Evande Leventhorpe?"

"Yeah, her. She, um, volunteers at charities? And she admitted her family weren't great people, and told me she wanted to be friends."

I hadn't expected that. I wasn't sure what I actually had suspected, but it wasn't that. I hadn't talked to Lady Evande yet, and I was wondering what she was going to be like. I was glad to hear that she was a good person, especially from my twin. He was an excellent judge of character.

"You had to talk to others," I said.

"I did. Lady Mackenzie was pretty cool too, she liked architecture. She doesn't like her sister though. She hates her."

"She does? I met Natalia, she was very kind."

Adam scrunched up his face in confusion. "That's strange. Um, I also talked to Lia. You know, the girl that Astrid talked to? She was great too."

I lightly punched Adam in the arm, grinning.

"You talked to a lot of people, good job. I always knew you had it in you!"

He smiled bashfully, shrugging. "I guess. Who'd you talk to?"

I leaned of the side of my twin's bed, until I was almost upside down. "Some people. Cora was really elegant, her posture was impeccable. Yixin and Iz were pretty flirty, and Cam was pretty fun."

"Cam? Iz?"

"Ladies Camilla and Izara," I replied. "Aisling was kind of emotionless, but cool. She liked Lord of the Rings, which makes her cool in my book. Oh, and I danced with Alia. She was adorable."

I chuckled at the memory of her eating her fruit tart, and then dropping it.

"Who'd you dance with?"

"Lady Genevieve."

"Oh, cool. What was she like?"

Adam shrugged again, looking down. "She seemed cold. I don't really know. She seemed like she was holding some stuff in. Kind of like Lady Selene, I guess. Genevieve might not have liked me that much, I couldn't tell."

He looked kind of uncomfortable, so I started talking. "She probably just doesn't show it. At all. I'm pretty sure Lady Alexandrine doesn't like me, she was looking at me all weirdly when we were talking."

"I didn't talk to Lady Alexandrine," he mentioned.

"She'll probably like you. Anyways, anyone you want to eliminate?"

Adam shifted on the bed, making it move. "I don't know. Two people were kind of boring, but I don't want to hurt their feelings or something."

I got up and leaned forward, looking my twin in the eye. "Adam, we're going to have to eliminate some people. These girls can't stay in the palace forever. Remember, we both have to find a wife."

He sighed, looking downward. "Okay. So, who were you thinking?"

The next morning

I quickly bounded down the steps, a spring in my step. Even though I hadn't gotten much sleep last night, I wasn't tired. Today we would be having breakfast with the Selected (even if we were going to sit at different tables). It was quite exciting.

Adam, Ella, and Astrid followed me down the stairs. Adam wasn't as hyper as I was, he just looked nervous. Astrid and Ella were talking, per usual. In front of the doors to the dining hall stood the rest of the squad and their parents.

"Morning!" Lena said cheerfully, leaning against the wall.

"Good morning," Ella greeted.

Bree and Zane told us that the kitchen staff had told them that because of the extra 35 people, they were a bit late. We were going to have to wait.

I leaned against the wall, tapping my foot against the floor quickly. I understood that they were late, but I was an impatient person. Adam walked up to me, chatting with Eliza. They were probably talking about books. They were always talking about them.

Suddenly, my Aunt Kalliope appeared in front of the three of us. She grinned, grabbing myself and my twin and putting us both into a headlock.

"Hey boys!"

"Mom!" Bree yelled, but she was giggling. Her mother let us go, smiling. She regretted nothing.

"Hey." I said, rubbing the back of my head.

"So, the Selection huh? I've barely talked to you two since it started, how are you liking it? Any girls you specifically like?"

Adam blushed at that comment.

"It's great! I haven't talked to all of the Selected yet, but the ones I have talked to are pretty cool. Well, most of them," I answered.

"You have any idea who you're going to ask out on a date?"

"Yeah, I do. I'm still thinking about it though."

Aunt Kalliope turned around, so she was facing Adam, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"What about you? Like any girls?"

Adam's face turned a deeper red, which it tended to do a lot. He broke eye contact with my aunt.

"I guess? They're nice and all, I'm not sure how I'm going to ask one of them out."

"Don't worry, asking out girls is easy," Zane said, wandering over to our little group. Her ruffled Eliza's hair, which made her smile. "Just compliment her, say a few good pick-up lines, and your good to go."

"Your way doesn't work on everyone," I joked, elbowing Zane lightly. "Not every girl appreciates a good pick-up line."

"Every girl I've met has."

"Not me," Ella butted in, grinning mischievously.

"Or me!" Lena added.

"That is a lie," Julie said bluntly, which made Lena roll her eyes, and everyone else laugh.

After a few more minutes, the doors to the dining hall opened, and we walked in. I sat next to Adam, who had been talking to Astrid and Eliza.

"Hey," I caught his attention. "You don't have to listen to Zane. His relationships with girls are short. Very short. You do your own way."

"Um, okay?" he said, confused. "I will. I'll try."

Before Lena could yell a Star Wars quote from across the table, the Selected walked in. Some of them were quiet, but some were talking with each other. Others had seemed to make friends. This made me smile, and I noticed Adam had too.

The staff brought out our breakfast, and we began to eat. Some of the Selected looked confused at all the extra cutlery, and some knew exactly what to do. Penny would probably teach them that later.

The dining hall was abuzz with chatter. Lena and Bree were being loud (as usual), and Astrid and Ella were talking as well. The Selected had also started to talk more after they had sat down. The mood was good, and i didn't want to ruin it.

But I had to.

As everyone was finishing breakfast, and nodded to Adam. We both stood up, and I cleared my throat. Everyone looked up at us.

"Good morning," I said, trying to keep the mood light. It probably wouldn't last. "We would like to make an announcement."

"Uh, in this Selection, we have to find a, um, w-wife," Adam looked almost sick at the mention of a wife. "So, we can't keep girls around who aren't special to us. We are really really sorry to the girls who are going to be a-announced, and by that I mean eliminated, which you probably knew. My twin and I don't really connect with you, and, uh, we don't want to keep your h-hopes up."

We had agreed last night that Adam would do the speech, and I would say who was going to be eliminated. I would definitely feel less guilty about it. I pulled a slip of paper from my suit pocket, unfolded it, and started to read aloud.

"Kathryn Macey." Lady Kathryn gasped out loud, and her hand flew to her mouth.

"Stephanie Patrick, Tasha Fay, Lydia Tyrell." Tasha quickly looked down at the floor, sniffing loudly. Stephanie bit her lower lip, obviously surprised. She was from a very rich family, but Adam and I both found her bland. Lydia clenched her fists in anger, and was about to say something before I interrupted her.

"Justine Peyton, Sandy Arter, Carmen Rone."

I noticed that most of the other Selected were giving the eliminated girls sympathetic looks, but they looked relieved as well.

"Susan Gage, Lisa Burrell."

Susan shrugged when she heard the news, not looking that upset. She had told me last night that she didn't want to be here, so that was one of the reasons Adam and I had decided to eliminate her. Lisa looked very disappointed, and one of the other Selected gave her a quick hug.

"Pippa Howe, Eloise Uzun, Megan Kay, Jenny Porra, Roxanne Burke, and Amelia Kovac." I folded the piece of paper back into a smaller square, and tucked it into my pocket. "That is all. My brother and I wish all of those eliminated the best."

Every girl not eliminated let out a breath, filling the room with more carbon dioxide then it would probably ever need. Adam and I sat back down, he already looked guilty.

"Hey, stop looking so guilty. We had to do this eventually," I told him.

"I know. They just look so sad. I didn't want to make them like this," he said softly, picking at the rest of his food.

I sighed. I knew that this had to be done, but I couldn't help feeling guilty as well.

 **This ended on a sadder note then I intended it too. All of the characters eliminated were throwaways, they were not submitted.**

 **The next chapter will probably be a date, so it might take a bit to get up. Both of the polls are closed, and the dates are decided! Look forward to that!**

 **Again, a huge thanks to all the wonderful people who voted on the polls and have reviewed, and I hope you liked the chapter! Also, Happy Valentine's Day!  
**


	10. Chapter 10

_Adam's POV_

It had been a few days since we had eliminated all of those girls, and I still felt guilty. I did agree with Nico, it was crueler to keep their hopes up then eliminate them, but it still didn't feel good. I wanted to make people smile, not be sad.

We both still hadn't asked one of the girls out yet. I had an idea of who I wanted to take out, but I didn't know how to ask her. Zane had said pick-up lines, but I didn't think that was going to be a good idea. I wasn't sure why Nico hadn't asked someone out yet either. Maybe he was still thinking about it, we were both overthinkers, but me much more than him.

I had been looking at the Selected's forms, trying to see what they would like. Nico was working or something like that, he was always working on something. I (and probably our parents) had thought that the Selection would make him focus on something other than practicing for his future job, which turned out to be wrong. He probably hadn't gone on a date yet because he was working. That would make sense.

I checked the time, and it was almost lunchtime. I groaned, putting the forms back into the bag. I had to ask someone out soon, the press were getting bored. Lunchtime would be a good time to ask her.

I picked up my phone to make a call.

As I walked down the steps a couple minutes later, my heart thumped nervously in my chest.

 _Get a grip_ , I thought to myself. _It's going to be okay. She will say yes. You two will have a good time. Stop worrying._

I entered the dining hall. Thankfully, none of the Selected had arrived yet. They were probably getting lessons with Penny, who had put training the ladies on herself. My twin wasn't here either, which was strange. He hadn't been in his room.

I sat down next to Ella, Astrid in the seat facing her's.

"Do you know where Nico is?"

She thought for a second, then shook her head. "No. I haven't seen him all day, actually."

"Me neither," Astrid chimed in, twirling her fork in the air.

"Nicholas and your father aren't going to be here today," my mom said, walking into the room. She put Henry into his seat, then sat down. "They have a bunch of meetings to go to. They're not at home, somewhere else in Angeles City. They won't be back until after dinner."

Great. Nico wasn't going to be here. I was counting on my twin for moral support.

The rest of our squad (and their parents) started arriving. Eliza slid into the seat facing mine, next to Astrid, grinning at me.

"Hey, how's it going?"

I shrugged. "Fine, I guess."

"You look nervous."

Before I could answer, the Selected entered the room. They were clumped together in groups. I started to blush, which gave Eliza the answer she wanted.

"Are you going to ask one out on a date?"

I nodded, face still pink, and a smile broke across her face.

"You're asking someone out on a date?" Astrid and Ella said at the same time, then laughed.

"Y-yeah."

"Who?" the three girls asked, all leaning forward on their elbows.

I muttered her name under my breath, just loud enough for them to hear.

"Oh, I talked to her. She's really nice, that's a good choice," Ella mentioned.

The staff started to bring the food out, thankfully stopping the conversation about my love life. The Selected seemed to know how to use all the utensils now. We dug in.  
Lunch seemed painfully short, because I was going to ask her out afterwards. I had been thinking about waiting a day, but now that Ella, Astrid, and Eliza knew, there was no backing out of it. I had to ask her.

 _Keep calm_ , I told myself. I did not keep calm.

Eliza glanced over at me. "You look like a deer in headlights. Relax."

"Have you ever asked someone out before?"

She frowned. "No. I probably never will. But I've read a lot about it, if that helps. Just be polite. Say something along the lines of 'Hey, would you like to go to this place with me?' I would love that. Not saying that I want you to ask me out. I don't. I don't feel anything romantic toward you. . ."

She laughed awkwardly, and I did to. "Thanks. I'll try."

I took a deep breath, and found the girl I was going to ask out. She was talking excitedly with someone else. Why did girls have to go everywhere in groups?

I followed her until the two separated (which was a very stalker-ish thing to do). She skipped down the hall, and I almost had to jog to keep up with her.

"Um, excuse me? Joy?"

Joy Johnson turned around, her black and white skirt fanning out. She smiled. "Hey Adam! What is it? What's going on?"

I scratched the back of my head, feeling my face flush. "Um, I was wondering if you wanted to go to this n-nature park? With me? That might have been a given, but I wanted to clear it up."

There was a tension-filled silence for half a second, then Joy's smile got even bigger, lighting up her face and the room. "I would love to! That sounds awesome, when would we go?"

"I-In a couple minutes. It can be cool outside though, you might want to change. I don't want you getting cold. Although you don't seem cold," I said.

She skipped towards me, grabbing my hand. "I'm from Whites. This weather is nothing. Let's go!"

Joy really was a ball of energy, and a fast one too. This time, I did have to run to keep up with her.

"We're going to a nature park, right? 'Cause I love nature!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, I know. Oh, that sounds really weird. You put down that you liked nature on your form, so I thought it would be a good choice. It sounds like it was?"

"It is! You're sweet."

My face turned red, but I was smiling.

I showed her the way to the limo that was waiting for the two of us. We sat down, and the driver started to drive us to the park. It was the nicest one (according to reviews) that was the closest to my home.

Joy fidgeted in her seat most of the time, silence hanging over us. She rolled down her tinted-windows during the drive, and started to look outside. It was kind of cute.

After a short drive, the limo stopped in front of Young Nature Park. There were a few people hanging around the entrance, but not many were actually in the park. Joy practically jumped out of the car, and I followed her.

"Wow, this is so pretty!" she said, bouncing up in down like a kid in a candy store. That definitely was cute, and the nature park definitely was pretty. It was covered in green grass or wood chips, but there was a concrete path surrounded by trees. I thought I could see a pond in the distance, along with some colorful dots.

"I-I'm glad you like it."

We both started walking through the park. Joy flitted from tree to tree, while I mostly stayed silent. I wasn't really sure what to say.

 _Should I bring up Harry Potter? No, probably something else, since we talked about that at the ball. I don't want to be annoying. Maybe her job?_ I pondered.

"Um, you s-ski, right?"

Joy immediately turned around, excitement in her gray/blue eyes. She nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! I love it, it's really fun."

"What's it like?"

I walked a little faster to keep up with her as she gushed about it. "It's like flying, but on snow. And it's sooo fun and great and awesome, it's really . . . exhilarating. I can't describe it, but it's the very best thing ever. You just feel free."

"That sounds really great and fun. I've never skied, even though I've been to Whites. I'm not really a sports person, none of my family is. Well, I'm not sure about Henry yet. . ."

"You've been to Whites, but didn't ski?" Joy asked, surprised.

"Y-yeah. Sorry, is that bad?"

"If you go to Whites again, you have to try skiing!"

Joy started to talk more about it, while I listened. It was nice, her talking and me listening. I didn't have to talk, and mess something up because of it. I felt less nervous.

"So a 360º is really fun, but scary when you first do it," she explained. "A 540º is harder."

Joy stopped talking for a second, then started again. "So, I like skiing, but what do you like to do?"

"W-what?" I stammered, caught off guard.

"What are your hobbies?"

"Uh, reading. I love to read. I actually finished this one book last night, it was about this world where no one could read but this one girl could. And she would travel around with this guy. A-anyways, I also like chess. So does Nico, we play sometimes, but he usually doesn't have time. He works a lot. I write sometimes, but Eliza's better than me."

"I don't play chess that much," she said. "I think I know how to play. I like baking and knitting. I also like most sports, and anything active. This date was a really good choice."

I smiled bashfully, and stuttered out a thank you.

"What do you think about Whites?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.

"I-It's really pretty there. I went in winter, so it was really snowy and cold. We didn't really go anywhere, but it was still really really nice," I answered.

"I know! In the winter, Whites is gorgeous. Everything is white and pure, it's one of the most beautiful things I've seen."

She had a small smile and a dreamy look on her face, and was looking like she was zoning out as she was walking. She almost walked into a tree before I grabbed her and pulled her away.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just fine! Sorry. I think I zoned out again," she said sheepishly, her cheeks turning red. "I started thinking about snow and my home, and I just couldn't stop. Silly me."

She laughed awkwardly, and started fiddling with the bottom of her skirt.

"It's okay," I started to ramble. "I zone out a lot too. It's normal. At least, it is for me."

We kept on walking on the path, which was silent once again. Neither of us were talking, and I wanted to say something, but I didn't know what.

"So," she started of with. "What's your Hogwarts house?"

"I'm a Hufflepuff."

"That's what I thought," she said, grinning. "Hufflepuff is a great house! I hate how it's portrayed as the house where all the weak people go. Did you know that a African honey badger can slay three lions on it's own?"

"N-No. I didn't know that."

"I'm a Gryffinpuff, so I like both houses. Hufflepuffs are awesome!"

She flashed me a thumbs up.

"Thanks, I guess?"

"No problem! I hate the stereotypes about the houses, they're bad."

We talked a little more about Harry Potter, which was pretty cool. We had similar views on the books and the characters, and I enjoyed talking about it (or listening to her talk about it, because that's what I was doing for most of the time).

"Hey," she said suddenly. "Isn't that tree huge?"

Joy pointed toward a tree, which was indeed very tall.

"Uh, yeah. Why?"

"We should climb it!"

"What-"

Before I could stop her (or just do something) she was running toward the tree. She started to pull herself up to get to the first branch.

"Joy! Wait!"

She turned around, smiling playfully. "What?"

"Um, I don't w-want to sound like a pervert, but you're wearing a skirt," I pointed out, my face flushing as I talked.

"Oh, don't worry. I have shorts underneath it," she said. She was already on the first branch. "Come on!"

"I, um, haven't climbed a tree in a long time."

"I'll help. You shouldn't worry, this'll be fun! Remember, worrying makes you suffer twice!"

I jogged up to the tree, still worrying, but less now. It was hard to say no to that smile.

She held out her hand, and I took it. Joy was strong, for someone so small. We both started to climb up the tree, which was more fun than I'd expected. Astrid would have loved this tree, and this park.

We stopped when the branches started getting thinner, and probably wouldn't hold both of us. We sat down and got comfortable.

"Isn't the view beautiful?"

"It is," I answered.

From our vantage point, I could see the rest of the park, my home, and Angeles City. The castle was close to my left, I could almost see the gardens. Buildings towered over the city, casting large shadows. The sky was a darkening blue, and I could see the sun setting to my right. Because of that, the city was lighting up. In the distance, I could see the old Hollywood sign.

"Thanks for bringing me here," Joy said.

"It was nothing."

We stayed silent for a while. It wasn't awkward, it was just quiet. I really liked it, and hoped Joy did too. I looked over at her, and saw her smiling. The light was shining of her blonde hair and her eyes, which looked almost silver. They were a strange color, but beautiful. She looked really pretty.

She glanced over at me, and caught me staring. I looked away, blushing.

"S-Sorry," I stammered, breaking the silence. "I wanted to see if you were happy a-and you just looked really pretty and-"

"Thank you," she said, interrupting my rambling. "And don't worry. I'm having a great time!"

We stayed up there for a while longer, just sitting. When the sun started really setting, we started climbing down. It was easier than expected, and we walked back to the car, hand in hand.

Unfortunately, reporters had caught wind about us being here, and were almost surrounding the car. Guards from the palace were holding them back as they yelled stuff I couldn't understand and snapped photos. I put on my best smile, but my face still turned red.

Instead of getting nervous and shy, Joy was thriving. She smiled brightly and genuinely, and waved enthusiastically for the cameras. We kept holding hands until we had to get in the car, and drove back home.

"Thanks for bringing me to that park, I had an amazing time!" she exclaimed. We had gotten back to the palace, and walking back to her room so she could get ready for dinner.  
"I-It was no problem. I'm glad that you enjoyed it," I said shyly.

We reached her room, where she unexpectedly gave me a big hug. And then something even more unexpected happened.

She kissed me.

It wasn't on the lips, more on the cheek. And it was more sweet than romantic. But she still kissed me.

"See you at dinner!"

She waved, grinning, and ran into her room. It took a moment for me to realize that my mouth was wide open, and I was touching where she kissed me. My face was hot.

And I was smiling.

 **Belated Happy Chinese/Lunar New Year! That was the first date! I hope you liked it, Joy is really cool! Next chapter will be Nico's date. I have to admit, I don't have many set plans after that (I do have a few, so I'm not completely disorganized), so please tell me if you want anything to happen!**

 **I mentioned a couple franchises in this chapter, and I do not own any of them! The book I mentioned is The Reader, which is a very good book!**

 **I know this had nothing to do with this fanfic, but I just saw Black Panther today, and let me tell you, it is amazing. I am still screaming (inside my head at least). I totally recommend it!**

 **Another thing (when am I going to stop talking) is that I can't figure out if I reached 100 reviews on last chapter or the one before that, but THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! You guys are soooooo awesome. Also, this is the tench chapter of this fanfic, so double digits! Yay!  
**

 **I hope you liked this chapter, and thanks again for reading!**


	11. Chapter 11

_Nico's POV_

When I woke up, I was still in the clothes I had worn yesterday. I could barely remember what had happened last night, I was pretty sure I just fell into bed and went to sleep. The day had been exhausting, dad and I had visited a bunch of companies. I hadn't realized that it was still possible that I could get as tired as I did yesterday.

Most of breakfast had already gone by, and since I was hungry, I quickly changed. I jogged down the halls and stairs of my home, waving at the maids and butlers. I was in a good mood.

I strode into the dining hall, grinning. Everyone's heads turned, staring at me. I smiled, but a slight blush prickled onto my cheeks. I noticed that my dad wasn't in his usual spot.

"Hey Nico," Zane said. "Overslept?"

"Yeah," I answered, sliding into the seat next to his. He had saved it for me, and I dug into the plate of food in front of me.

"You do not know how much work I did yesterday," I said in between bites, pointing my fork at my friend. "What happened yesterday."

"Adam went on a daaaate," Bree singsonged, making my twin blush and look down at the table. I almost spat out my food.

"Wait, what? Who he go out with? What happened?"

Everyone looked toward Adam, which made him blush redder and curl in slightly.

"Joy," he muttered, picking at what was left of his food. "We went to a n-nature park."

"She kissed him on the cheek," Ella added, smiling mischievously.

"Oooooh," I teased my twin, feeling like a schoolgirl. I didn't expect Adam to go on a date so fast, it didn't seem like him. I was glad he was getting out of his shell though. "I gotta up my game. Would you mind if I took someone out on a date today?"

"No," he said.

"Who are you going to ask out?" Lena asked, leaning forward with a smile on her face. My cousin loved this kind of stuff. Scratch that, the whole squad loved this kind of stuff.

"You'll find out with tomorrow's news."

Most of the squad (besides Adam, Eliza, and Astrid) groaned at my comment, Bree and Lena rolled their eyes playfully.

"C'mon, tell us," Zane said, leaning back in his chair.

"Again, you'll find out. So, what else happened yesterday?"

Breakfast started to end, and I scarfed down my breakfast just in time. I ran after my twin. He was talking with Eliza, as he was doing most of the time.

"Hey, Adam!"

Both of the two turned around.

"Where are you going?"

"My room," Adam said.

"Can I come with? I need to get something."

Adam looked Eliza, a question in his eyes, and she nodded.

"I was going to go back to my house anyway. I'll see you two later." She waved, skipping down the hall.

"Did she leave because of me?"

"Oh, no. She didn't. She has to go get her tablet."

As soon as we started walking up the stairs together, I popped the inevitable question. "So, how was the date? You have to give me all the details? What'd you talk about? Is she cool? I know you talked to her at the ball, but did you two get closer?"

Adam's face turned light pink. It seemed to never stop doing that since the Selection started.

"The date went really well," he admitted, smiling a bit. "She talked most of the time. I listened. Which is good, because I don't really like to talk. Unless it's someone I'm close to. Anyways, she talked a lot about skiing. It was really cute. We also talked about Harry Potter. And climbed a tree. The view was beautiful."

"Awwwww, that's romantic," I said, making Adam more embarrassed. I regretted nothing. "When did she kiss you?"

"A-After the date. When I had walked her to her room," he mumbled.

I mercilessly teased my twin as we walked together. When we got to his room, he immediately changed the subject. "W-W-What did you need?"

"One of the Selected's forms."

"Oh, so you can know more about her? For the date?"

I grinned at Adam. "Yep. You know me so well. Where are the forms?"

My twin promptly handed me a paper bag, which I started digging through. Her form was near the bottom, and slightly wrinkled. Then again, all of them were wrinkled.

"Thanks," I said. "I'll see you later!"

I walked out of my twin's room and into my own, and sat down to read through her form.

 _About a hour later_

I stood in front of the couch, waiting for the girl I had asked out to arrive. I had read through her form, and this date seemed like something she would like.

The two elaborately decorated doors opened, and Lady Izara Karlsson walked in. She was wearing a white halter top, a slightly oversized sweater, denim shorts, and black slippers. Her curly dark hair fell naturally (and beautifully) over her head like a halo, and she didn't look like she was wearing any makeup.

"Good morning Iz," I greeted. "You look gorgeous this morning."

She smiled flirtatiously. "Thank you. You don't look so bad yourself. May I ask where we are?"

"We're in the lounge," I answered. "It's where my family, and our friends hang out. I was wondering if you would like to watch a movie with me?"

"Of course, Nico," she said. Iz took a step forward, batting her eyelashes. 'What movie?"

"It's called Strictly Ballroom," I told her. "It's about ballroom dancing, it's a very old movie. But it's good. I think you'll like it."

"Then what are we waiting for?"

Iz grabbed my hand, and pulled me toward the couch. We sat down, and pulled the blankets over us. It was a chilly day, even in the palace. I turned the giant T.V on, and started to play the movie. I pulled the bowl of popcorn that the cooks had previously popped onto my lap, and Iz ate some. I smiled. She looked beautiful.

Over the course of the movie, Iz slowly cuddled up to me, until she was pretty much laying in my arms. I had never been so intimate with someone before her, but I didn't mind it. It was nice, and she looked content.

"Do you want Red Vines?" I asked her, showing her the box.

"You're really going for the full movie experience, huh?" She reached for the box anyway.

The movie flew by quickly. Before I knew it, the movie had ended, and the credits were rolling.

"That was a good movie," Iz said. "I love the costumes, especially the gild one. The part where the two leap in is really cool, and so are the two kids."

"I'm glad you liked it."

I started to get up, but Izara tugged on my shirt.

"Stay," she purred, stroking one finger across my arm. I sat back down.

"What do you like to do?" she asked, snuggling in closer.

"I love to write. Not stories, but political stuff. You might not like it, not many people do. I'm going to be King, so I have to like it. I love to play chess, and board games. Monopoly is fun. I also like to read, and talk to people. Especially when it's about topics that I'm passionate about."

"I love socializing too," she said. "Although chess isn't really my specialty."

"What is your specialty? Or specialties. You must be very talented."

She grinned. "I love yoga. My mother is a yoga instructor, after all."

"That must be nice. Do you spend time together?"

"Not much, to be honest," she admitted.

The new silence became awkward, and then I spoke. "Tell me more about yoga. It sounds interesting."

Iz perked up considerably. "It can be relaxing, but it is hard. The positions can be hard to stay in, you have to have strength and balance."

"I would do horribly then."

She laughed, and playfully bumped her shoulder into mine. "You wouldn't be awful."

"Really? I exercise, but not a lot. I can't balance for my life either."

"Yoga is more then balance," Iz said. "It's over 5,000 years old! Yoga means union. It can help people with diseases, and reduces stress, anxiety, and depression. Yoga can also control diabetes and asthma. It improves your immune system in general, improves memory, helps people quit addictions, and helps you live longer. It's also very fun!"

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. "Wow. I didn't know that. That's impressive. You know all this stuff because your mom is an instructor, right?"

"Yeah, you're getting to know me already! I grew up with yoga, I mostly do it in my free time. What do you do in your free time?"

"I work," I answered. "Sign forms. Study previous rulers of the country. Everyone thinks it's boring, besides one of my cousins. Julie and I both find it quite fun."

"It doesn't sound fun," Izara said, wrinkling her nose slightly.

"It really doesn't. Again, you wouldn't like it."

"I wouldn't think anybody would like that kind of stuff, but I guess I was wrong."

I snorted, which made her giggle. She ran one hand carelessly through her curly hair, making it bounce.

"You're an interesting guy, Nicholas Schreave," Iz declared. "I wouldn't expect anything less from a prince."

"I'm glad I'm meeting your expectations."

"Am I meeting your's?"

"I wasn't sure what to expect," I said.

"Haven't dated many girls, huh?" She sat up, so she wasn't leaning on me anymore. A playful smile was on her face, and she looked up at me through her long dark brown lashes. Iz was very flirtatious. I liked it.

"Nope. Not many. I'm around girls a lot, if that counts."

"You're around your family and family friends. That does not count. What I mean is, have you dated anyone?" she asked, a certain look in her eye that I couldn't place.

"Yeah," I said. "A politician's daughter. It didn't work out. There were no hard feelings, we were just better of as friends."

"I would be surprised if you hadn't dated. You're a nice guy, much nicer than most I've met."

"Thanks. You're a nice girl too. Very nice."

"I'm glad."

Iz leaned back on the couch, and grabbed the last Red Vine.

"Hope ya don't mind." She bit into it before I could do anything, and raised one eyebrow at me in challenge.

I quickly checked my watch, and groaned. "Damn, it's almost time for lunch. Penny will kill us if we're late. We gotta go."

"Awww," Iz complained. "It's comfy here."

Even so, we both got up. I stuck out my arm, and she looped her's through mine. We walked back to her room together.

"Wait for me, kay?" She skipped into her room, and stuck out her tongue a little. After a few minutes, she walked out of the room wearing a bronze dress going to her knees and ivory heels. Iz did a little pose, and I clapped.

"You look gorgeous," I said.

"Thanks! Lets go!"

She took my hand. We walked down the stairs, and into the Dining Hall. We weren't late, but everyone else was already there. When we walked in, everyone stared. Iz seemed to prosper in the attention, holding her head high and smiling.

I turned around, bowed, and kissed her hand. "Today was fun, Lady Izara."

With her other hand, she fanned her face while giggling. "Awww, you make me blush. Thank you. I had a great time."

She curtseyed, and we both went to our seats. I already could see some of the Selected interrogating Izara, much like the squad were going to interrogate me.

I had barely sat down when the questions started.

"That's Lady Izara, right?"

"Oooh, whatcha do?"

"How was that date?"

"Is she nice?"

"Is she into you?"

"Iz is great. We had a good time," I answered.

"Come on," Bree groaned. "Details! I wanna know who my cuz is daaaating!"

"We watched Strictly Ballroom," I said, starting to eat. "It was cool. We talked, ate snacks, and cuddled a little. It was really fun."

"Aww, Nico is a cuddler." Bree bumped my arm from her seat next to me. "Are you the big spoon or the little spoon?

"Shut up."

The whole table laughed. I did to, in spite of myself.

"So, tell me more about this Iz," Lena asked.

"Did Adam get interrogated like this after his date?"

"Yes," the whole table deadpanned, including Adam.

I rolled my eyes, but began to tell them about the date.

 _Ella's POV_

"Astrid! Come down! You know we have to go talk to the Selected!"

My best friend Astrid stuck her tongue out at me playfully, grinning and giggling. She was perched up in one of the trees in the gardens, so high I couldn't reach her. I was pretty good at climbing trees, but she was impossibly good.

"You should go. I'll just babble or something. Wasn't Lena or Julie going to talk to them?" Astrid asked, her voice taking a more serious tone.

"Lena has to do schoolwork, and Julie and Nico are doing politics stuff together. Besides, I don't want to go alone. Come on, it'll be fun!"

My best friend rolled her brown eyes, but said that if I could reach her, she would come down and talk to the Selected with me. Now it was my turn to grin.

"Knew you couldn't say no to me," I teased. Astrid blushed, breaking eye contact.

I started to climb higher up the tree, branch by branch. I pulled myself up one branch, so I was directly below Astrid.

And I stumbled.

"Whoa-"

Before I started to fall, Astrid quickly grabbed my hand and pulled me up. I blinked a few times, and smiled cheekily at her.

"I reached ya! You have to come now!"

Astrid seemed to ignore what I had said. "Are you okay?"

"I'm great!"

"You almost fell," she said, hopping down easily from her branch so she could look me in the eye.

"Well, yeah. But you caught me. I knew you would. Now let's go!"

I could see that Astrid was still worried about me, so I bumped her shoulder lightly with mine and grinned wider. We started to climb down the tree, and Astrid only relaxed when we hit the ground.

"Why do you want to talk to the Selected so much anyway?"

"I kind of want to talk to other people. I mean, I love hanging out with you. But we never get to talk to others, especially those who around the same age as us. And the same gender. It'll be awesome and interesting!" I explained.

"If you say so," Astrid said, wrinkling her nose a little. It was adorable.

We walked through the halls of the palace, and into the Women's Room. The Selected must have finished with lessons, most of them were talking. Some were flipping through magazines, and some were just sitting.

A few noticed the door opening through the chatter of the room, and got up to curtsy. Astrid blushed, and I waved.

"Hi!" I said, offering a hand to one of the Selected. "I'm Ella, and this is Astrid."

"A-Alex," she stammered, taking my hand. We shook.

"It's nice to meet you. You're from one of the southern provinces, right?"

"Northern," Astrid finally said something. "I mean, I think."

"I'm from Yukon," Alex mumbled, pulling on her dress.

"Oh. Sorry, I thought you were from the south because your skin color is olive. Assuming, I know. It won't happen again."

We talked for a few more minutes, and then we ended the conversation.

"That was awkward," Astrid whispered as we walked away.

"Don't worry," I said. "We still gotta talk to some others. Nico and Adam want us to report back to them."

"Adam does?"

I didn't respond, instead grabbing her hand and pulling her over to two girls who were talking. One had short-ish brown hair, and the other had dark brown hair that went a little below her shoulders.

"Princess, Miss," the short-haired one said, curtseying. "My name is Giselle."

Even though she was being polite, she still sounded energetic. Her friend curtseyed as well, introducing herself as Riley Clark.

"Have you talked to the twins yet?" I asked.

"The twins? You mean the Princes?"

"Yep."

"I have! Well, one of them. I've talked to Nicholas, he is very nice."

I snorted. "You obviously haven't known him for very long."

Giselle and Riley laughed, and Astrid smiled a little.

"What's he like? From his sister and friend's perspective, of course?"

I looked at Astrid, who I could see was internally panicking for a second. She did start to speak though, so I stayed silent.

"He's okay, I guess? Nico's really devoted to his work, but he's nice. He will get tunnel vision though. When it comes to his goals. But he is loyal! Although he sucks at reading emotions. . ." Astrid explained, shifting her weight from foot to foot.

"So, not your typical guy," I finished. "But he's okay. For the most part."

"I wouldn't expect a prince to be a typical guy," Riley said. "If he was, why would we enter the Selection in the first place?"

"Well, for the fame and glory."

"That's true. Personally, I wouldn't want fame if it meant I had to marry and have children with someone who's boring."

"I agree!"

Astrid and I would have good things to report to the twins.

 **Hellooooooo. Sorry this update was kind of late, and that the last part is a bit rushed. I hoped you liked Nico's date with Izara! She's pretty flirty, but nice.**

 **I do not own the movie Strictly Ballroom, but do recommend it. It's pretty good! Again, if you have any ideas, feedback, or things you want to see happen, review or message me!**

 **Do you want any specific person's point of view shown? I'm probably going to start showing the Selected (which probably contradicts a earlier statement, sorry if it does). If you do, please tell me! I'm open to suggestions.**

 **Happy March, and thanks so much for reading!**


	12. Chapter 12

_Adam's POV_

Today was the day of the Report, the first one since the Selected had arrived at the palace. In the studio (where we filmed the Report) everyone was running around frantically. I saw Penny fly past me (in high heels, no less), yelling something while scribbling on a piece of paper.

I was sitting on one of the new white chairs, along with most of the squad and some of their parents. The Report team had changed the layout and design of the room, so it looked more modern than tyrannical. They had to get a lot of chairs, even though Ella and Astrid agreed to share a couch. Nico wasn't here yet, he was probably working. Like always.

I quickly looked towards the risers where the Selected would sit. They weren't here yet, Penny said they would come in right before the Report started.

I heard the door open, and glanced toward it, but it wasn't the Selected. It was just my twin, who casually slid into his seat next to mine.

"You excited?"

I gave him a look. "No."

"I figured," he said. "You shouldn't worry. You'll be fine. You barely mess up on the Report, considering how much worrying you do."

I smiled weakly. "Okay. I'll do fine."

"That's the spirit!"

Nico started to talk with Zane, so I just sat there and looked around. The Report was going to start soon, but the Selected still weren't here. I was worried and relieved at the same time.

"What do you think Penny's going to ask you? Well, and the Selected?"

Eliza had finally spoken, as earlier she again found a way to pull a book out of nowhere. Even though we had been friends since her birth, I had no idea how she did that.

"I don't know. Hopefully, nothing." I shrugged. "Maybe how the dates went? Even though Nico and I only went on one each. She'll probably ask the Selected how they feel about being at the palace, and stuff like that."

"Yeah, probably," she said. "Who do you think you're going to go on a date with next?"

I sighed when I saw the gleam in her brown eyes. Eliza loved romance books, so she loved this whole idea of a Selection (especially when it wasn't focused on her). She always waned to know every detail of everything I had done or was going to do.

"Nico and I were talking about a double date this afternoon," I finally mumbled. "We're not sure who we would be going with though."

"Awww, that's a good idea. Really cute too."

I blushed. Suddenly, Eliza's eyes widened, looking at something behind me. I turned in my seat, and saw what she was looking at.

It wasn't something. Not at all.

All of the Selected looked gorgeous. They were absolutely breathtaking, they must have wanted to make a good first impression on Illea. They were going to.

I was staring at them, then nudged Nico. He turned around, and started staring as well.

"Wow," he murmured. "They look great."

The girls went to sit up on the risers. Joy caught my eye, and she started to wave, smiling. Even though I felt that my blush was going to be permanently seared into my skin, I smiled and waved back.

"Oooooooh," Nico and Eliza chorused, both grinning widely.

Before I could think of something utterly stupid to say, I saw the light above the LIVE sign start to blink. I turned to look at the closed curtains, and tried my best to smile.

After a few seconds, the curtains started to open, and I took a deep breath.

"Welcome to the weekly Report!" Penny announced.

The Report had begun.

 _Selene's POV_

I straightened my back, looking at the camera without a smile. Ms. Penny was speaking to the audience, who were whispering to each other. The royal family and their friends smiled at the audience and the camera, while most of the the Selected stayed quiet.

"On tonight's Report, we will be talking to the lovely Daughters of Illea. We will be doing this by province, so would the lovely Camilla Sinclair some up?"

Camilla smiled, and stood up to walk to the chair. The audience clapped politely, and Penny smiled at the other girl.

"So, Camilla. You look gorgeous!"

"Thanks! This dress is beautiful, isn't it?" Camilla did a little twirl, making her pink dress poof out. The audience oohed and aahed.

"It certainly is! Now, how are you liking the palace and the Selection?"

Camilla was funny and engaging, often making the audience laugh and smile. I wondered if all of the Selected were going to be like this.

The next girl was Lady Giselle, who I vaguely remembered as working at Delund Tech. I noticed she was somewhat like Camilla, both were charming and social. However, Giselle seemed more serious then Camilla, the other girl was more easygoing.

I once again focused on the camera, making sure my emotions didn't show on my face. I wanted to make a good impression, I had to.

My future depended on it.

I listened to the other Selected's interviews, albeit vaguely. All of the girls who had gone so far were pretty nice, most of the Selected I had talked to were. I hadn't approached any of them, but some of them had come to talk to me, and I had tried to be as cordial as possible.

I started focusing as Cecelia Rhode walked to the stage. She did well in her interview, being level headed and polite, but still positive.

Then Ms. Penny called my name.

I stood up, black dress swishing, and walked to the stage. I didn't smile, rather keeping a neutral expression. I didn't want my expressions to show on my face.

"Lady Selene Lucia," Penny said, leaning forward. "How are you doing tonight?"

"Fine, thank you," I answered, nodding a little and sitting down.

"Are you nervous?"

"No."

Penny jumped into the next question, leaving no room for an awkward silence. "So, we all know you love acting. What are some other hobbies of yours?" she asked.

Everyone was staring at me, including the Selected. I cracked a small smile, not wanting to seem to cold.

"I like photography," I said, a small zing of joy running through me as I said that word. "I also like yoga."

I almost started to smile as I thought of taking pictures, then pushed that thought out of my mind. I couldn't have that clouding my thoughts. Not tonight.

"Photography, huh? What other kinds of art do you like?"

"Acting, if that counts," I replied, uncomfortable. I wasn't used to opening up like this, even though it wasn't much. I had to get used to this.

"Acting! That counts. If you watching at home don't know, Lady Selene has acted in many famous movies, such as Fallen Star, Loveswept, and Steel End! Speaking of that, do you plan to star in any movies anytime soon? There's obviously the Selection issue, but have there been any requests?"

I heard interested murmurs from the crowd, and I folded my hands in my lap. "Well, because of the Selection, I am unable to act in any movies. I have gotten a request, which I have declined."

"Were they upset? What movie was it?"

"They understood, and I'm afraid I can't tell you," I said, keeping it short.

Before Ms. Penny could try to hassel an answer out of me, I heard a ding sound, alerting me that the interview was over. The women sitting opposite of me sighed.

"Well, we would all love to learn more about you, but the time is up. Selene Lucia, everyone!" Ms. Penny threw one arm toward me, and I curtseyed. The crowd clapped as I walked back to my seat. I caught one of the other Selected's eye, Joy Johnson's, and she subtly flashed me a thumbs up. I smiled at her, which surprised me.

This whole night had been a little surprising.

 _Mackenzie's POV_

I watched as Selene walked of the main stage, smiling a little. Her interview had gone pretty well, she had been very proper and didn't look nervous. I was panicking a little about it, but was trying to not worry too much. Besides, my turn to talk was still kind of far. I had time to think.

I started to listen in on Aisling's interview and the whispered conversations going on around me. The interview wasn't going badly. She didn't really have an opinion on a lot of the questions. I hadn't talked to her, but she hadn't seemed mean or anything.

The next girl was Evande Leventhorpe, who did really well in her interview. She made the crowd smile and laugh a lot. I had known her surname before the Selection, but vaguely. I had heard a lot since I got here. Apparently, her family wasn't that great. I could relate.

I noticed my twin in the front row, making me frown. I couldn't see her face, but I imagined a smile on it. A fake smile.

She got up, passing Genevive Lark on the way to the seat. Apparently, it was her turn to speak. I had already began to tune out her interview, leaning back a bit in my seat with pursed lips. A few of the Selected were whispering to each other about the interviews, while most opted to stay quiet. I wasn't talking.

"You're sister is nice," someone whispered. It took a few seconds to realise Joy was talking to me. _Who else has a sister in the Selection?_

"She's really not," I muttered automatically.

"What do you mean? Natalia's been really nice to everyone this week."

"You don't know her like I do."

"Hmm." Joy didn't say anything after that (well, at least to me). I didn't want to be mean, but I couldn't lie. My twin was awful, no matter what anyone said.

Natalia wasn't able to say anything about me in her interview before her time was up. The audience had loved her. She caught my eye on the way back to her seat on the risers, and smirked at me. I glared back at her. After she sat down, Riley Clark walked up to the seat, wearing a nice jumpsuit. I could already hear Penny mentioning it.

The next interviews flew by while I listened. Rosanna was cheerful and sweet, another crowd-pleaser. She had already met the princes, because her mother was one of the King's old Selected. Yixin Li was kind of arrogant, to be honest, but kept her composure when Penny talked to her about her father (something bad happened including him). Caroline, or Cora, was also very composed. She was kind and proper, but seemed a bit uptight to me.

It was when Izara walked up to the chair when I realized I would be after her. I was trying to not worry about it to much. Penny had told us to just be ourselves, and that was exactly who I was going to be.

Izara was doing very well, her talk about her date with Nico was making the audience sigh in happiness. The buzzer did ring, and she walked of, smiling at me as I stood up. I smiled back.

I hated that I had to wear a dress, it was uncomfortable and hard to walk in. I was used to overalls, and just regular casual clothes. Even so, I straightened my back and tried not to fall over or do something embarrassing.

"Lady Mackenzie Stone," Penny announced, and the crowd clapped politely. I slid gratefully into my seat. "Are you nervous?"

I shrugged. "A little, I guess."

"Wow. I'm guessing you're not that used to talking to people, huh?"

"Not really," I replied. "But I think I'm a laid-back kinda person."

"Are you worried about your prospects in the Selection?"

"Not that much. I mean, I kinda think everyone is." The crowd laughed. "So I am worried. A little. It is what it is."

"Wow, very mature of you. Now, what is being in the palace like for you? I don't want to offend you, but it must be a change in scenery," she asked, leaning forward in her chair.

"Don't worry about it," I said, waving my hand vaguely in the air. "I love it here! The palace is gorgeous, and I love to explore and see all the beautiful architecture!"

"You like architecture?"

"Yeah."

"That's an interesting hobby. What else do you like to do? Do you like your job?"

I nodded eagerly. "Yes. The work is hard, but I don't mind. Hard work is always good. Plus, I love being outside!"

"You're so positive!" she exclaimed.

"I guess."

"No, you are. Not many people would be that positive about working on a farm," she said. "Have you talked with the princes yet?"

"I talked to Adam at the ball," I answered. "He was really nice."

I could see Adam out of the corner of my eye. He was now blushing, and his brother was saying something to him with a smirk on his face. The two were good together, they acted like family.

"I've talked to Nico a few times in passing too," I added. "He's pretty charming, but seems pretty busy."

Penny turned in her seat and started talking to the princes. "How do you two feel about this?"

Nico answered first. "Well, I can definitely confirm that I'm busy!" I heard laughs from the crowd. "I don't want to toot my own horn, but I can be charming sometimes. I do my best."

Everyone looked at Adam, who blushed harder. "T-Thanks. I try to be nice."

"Well, you sure are," Penny said, chuckling. Suddenly, the ringer dinged, almost making me flinch. Penny sighed.

"Well, it was wonderful to speak to you, Mackenzie. You are very unique."

"Thank ya!"

The crowd applauded as I walked of, which made me grin.

* * *

 **Hello! Again, sorry it took forever to update. My math teacher seems intent on killing me with work, and then FF wasn't working for some reason. I tried to write in the perspectives of the Selected this chapter, so if I wrote in the perspective of your character, please give me feedback. That way I can fix it later if I didn't portray her right.**

 **I'll try to update sooner next time, and thanks for reading!**


	13. Chapter 13

_Nico's POV_

"Where are you going?"

I looked over to see my twin, who was closing his door. His messenger bag was slung around his shoulder.

"Today's the monthly annual meeting of all the representatives, advisors, and leaders of Illea," I answered, quickly fixing the collar of my jacket.

"It is? I thought that was next week."

"No, it's the second Saturday of each month," I reminded him. "What about you? Where are you going this fine morning?"

"I was at the Ashbaugh's, but I forgot my laptop," he said, holding up his messenger bag. "Eliza's is getting fixed, so she asked for me to get mine."

"Oh, cool. Want to walk together?" We were headed the same direction, after all.

Adam nodded, and we started down the hall.

"Who do you think you're going to ask for our double date?" I asked suddenly. Adam stumbled, then quickly righted himself.

"I dunno," he said, fiddling with the strap on his bag. "I talked to a few girls yesterday. Alex, Olympia, and Cora. They were nice. Maybe one of them?"

"Oooh, look at you," I teased. "Talking to girls. You've come so far already!"

"Be quiet."

I laughed. "They are good choices though. I don't know that much about Olympia, but she seems cool. Alex and Cora both did super well on the Report. I haven't read many reviews or polls, but from what I have read, Illean citizens seem to like them."

"We shouldn't base who we marry on what other people say."

"I know _that_ ," I said, rolling my eyes at my brother. "But still. I'm going to have to choose a Selected that would be a good partner and a good queen. I think the people should have some say. They are good judges of character. Most of the time."

"I mean, that is true. But for me, who I c-choose won't have to be queen. Because I'm not going to be king. You are."

"Unless I die," I joked. It was Adam's turn to roll his eyes this time, even though he didn't do it very often.

"You're not going to die Nico."

"You're probably right, but life's weird. You never know what will happen."

"Don't be negative."

Adam's tone made me laugh.

"I'll see you after the conference then," I said, after realizing that we were going to have to part ways at the next hallway. "To plan the date."

I emphasized the word "date," which made him blush and look away. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

"Yeah. To plan the d-date."

We waved goodbye to each other, and I stopped momentarily to fix my suit. I opened the door to the room and strode in, looking for familiar faces.

The first person I spotted was my dad, who was sitting at the head of the table, and my mom, sitting near him. I also recognized my dad's advisors, Aunt Brynn, Uncle Tristan, and Ruby Walker. Ruby smiled disgustingly at me. I smiled weakly back, then shuddered once she looked away.

Luckily, I spotted Ella next. She grinned and waved at me.

Technically, people other than the actual representatives/advisors/king were not supposed to be in here, but since I was going to be king, I had started going to these meetings since I was fourteen. Same with Ella, but she could come in because she was probably going to be one of my advisors when I became king. She had started going to the meetings at age fourteen as well. Zane was also supposed to come, but he never did.

I slid into my spot next to her.

"Do you know what we're talking about today?"

"Nope," I answered. "Hope it's something interesting."

"What, so you can almost get into a shouting match with Ruby or Mr. Snow about the topic?"

I sighed. "That was like, one ti-"

"Three time," she interrupted. "One with Ruby, and two with Mr. Snow. Who, speak of the devil, is coming in now."

Ella was right, Clermont's representative had arrived. Our eyes met, and he immediately glared at me. I glared back.

"They both had it coming," I muttered.

Ella rolled her eyes. A lot of people were doing that today.

We stayed in silence for a few minutes, just listening to the chatter in the room.

"Hey, Julie's here," Ella said abruptly.

My cousin sat down gracefully in the seat opposite mine, and smiled at the both of us. "Good morning."

"Mornin'" Ella and I said back.

"I hope we talk about something more interesting than the discussion that we had last time I came."

I nodded. "Yeah, I agree." The last time Julie was here for one of the meetings, we had talked about what should be named the most boring topic in existence; the payment of representatives. The three of us hated it.

"What, so you can argue with Ms. Walker or Mr. Snow?"

Julie's smirk made me groan and bury my face in my arms, while Ella burst out laughing. "You two are never going to let me forget this!"

Before Ella could sass me again, my dad hit the gavel on the sound block, signifying the beginning of the meeting.

"Good morning everyone, and thank you for coming," he began. "We don't have much to talk about today. Let's start of with foreign relations. Obviously, our relations with France are very good, but what about other countries? Mr. Sutton, do you have more news about South America?"

Mr. Sutton stood up as his name was called. He was the representative from Paloma, which almost bordered South America. They were seperated by the ocean, but not by much.

"Well, our alliance with Venebia has become stronger since we sent soldiers to help them in their war with Argentina. However, one quarter of the soldiers have died already! I think it would be best to not send anymore help."

Everyone in the room started whispering. My dad cleared his throat, and everyone went silent.

"We have allied with Venebia, I don't think it would be best if we betrayed their trust. They did send some soldier to help us with the rebel problem, and they did help. How is the war going?"

"We can't guess the winner yet, Your Highness."

"Okay. If they ask for more help, send it to them."

"I don't want to show any disrespect, but are you sure that is the best decision? If Argentina wins, we could have a serious war on our hands and-"

"Oh, what does it matter?" Mr. Snow suddenly said, making me frown. "Every news company I've ever heard of has been showing the Selection. If we do something wrong, no one will notice."

"I'm not sure that's a good thing."

Ella facepalmed and Julie sighed as I stood up. Mr. Snow glared harder at me, and I did the same.

"The people deserve to know what is happening. We shouldn't try to keep the war from them."

"I'm not trying to keep that from them!" he exclaimed, like I was the bad guy. "I can't control what the news station shows the people! But if they didn't show it, I wouldn't blame them. I wouldn't think Illean citizens would want to see their country in a losing battle!"

"It's not about win or lose!" I yelled back, slamming my hands on the table. Ella tugged at my sleeve.

"Nico? Maaaaybe you should stop now?" she whispered.

Considering her words, I took a deep breath, which calmed me down a little. I was still mad though.

"The people should know what we are doing and what we are getting them into," I said slowly. "They don't deserve to be kept in the dark. If we hide something big from them, and they find out, we would have riots on our hands!"

Everyone was silent for a few seconds. Then Mr. Snow spoke. "You are going to be a _terrible_ king."

"I'd be a better one than you," I shot back.

A few of the older representatives gasped dramatically, while the younger ones widened their eyes. A few people smiled. Julie looked stunned, but I could see she was repressing a smile. Ella was laughing silently, while my dad looked shocked (but I could also see was repressing laughter). Mr. Snow looked like he had been _stabbed_ , which made me smirk.

"Order!" my dad yelled, the gavel hitting the sound block once more. "I have made my decision on this matter! If someone has their own opinion, they can come to me after the meeting, although it will not change much. Let's take a little break to calm down."

I sat back down, and Ella smacked me lightly on the arm. "I thought you were actually going to try to not get into an argument!"

"I never said I was going to do that!"

"You should try and refrain from getting into arguments," Julie said. "You're making enemies so early into your career."

"I will say that I am making enemies, but doesn't that show that I stand up for what I believe in? That's a good quality for a leader!" I defended myself.

"It is, but you should try not to provoke people," Ella replied.

"He was being an idiot and a jerk!"

"I can't deny that," she said begrudgingly. "I know it's hard for you to not roast him like a steak, he even makes me mad. But still, even though standing up for what they believe in is a good trait for a leader, so is self-control."

My dad brought the meeting back, so we all went silent, giving me time to think. Ella's advice was good. I needed some self-control. She was going to be a good advisor in the future.

"Anything more on foreign relations?" my dad asked. No one said anything, so he proceeded to the next topic, which were natural disasters.

"Hurricane Leah has been destroying homes along the east coast," a representative from Waverly announced. "Some don't have the money to get relocated."

"There's a similar situation in Whites," the rep from that province said. There's been a horrible snowstorm. Some people are trapped in their homes in the mountains, although we are trying to get them out."

"Loan money to those in need of it, and find them shelter if they need it. I'll send provisions to both locations, and a helicopter to Whites. Anything more?"

Like my dad had said, this meeting was pretty uneventful. We mostly talked about tax prices, which was something that Ella and I thought was boring. The strange thing was someone ran into the end of the meeting, looking nervous, and told my father something. He looked worried as well.

"That meeting was better then last time," Julie decided as we walked out of the hall.

"Agreed," I said. " I have to meet Adam to talk about the double date we've got planned for the day, I'll talk to you two later?"

The two girls nodded, and we parted ways. I sent a quick text to Adam, then started of to his room. He wasn't there.

 _Probably still with Eliza_ , I thought. I sat down on his bed to wait for him, pulling out my phone and scrolling through the news apps to pass time.

"How was the meeting?" was the first thing Adam said when he arrived.

"Fine. A little boring."

My brother put his messenger bag on the desk, and sat on the bed with me. "Did you get into another argument with Mr. Snow or Ruby again?"

I groaned, making Adam flinch.

"You did?"

"No!" I exclaimed. "Well, yeah actually. Why does everybody keep bringing up those arguments? God, does everyone in the squad remember everything?"

Adam chuckled. "They do remember a lot. Especially if it's embarrassing."

"That's so true. Anyways, back to why we're actually meeting. Where do you think we should take the girls? Do you know who you're taking? I think I've already figured out who I'm going to bring, but I'm still thinking about it."

Adam's face turned pink when I asked him who he would bring. "I t-think I know, yeah. I'm not sure if she'll say yes though. We'll s-see tomorrow."

"I was thinking, we could take them to a theme park," my twin changed the subject very smoothly, scratching the back of his head.

"That's a good idea. There's a food festival going on this week, we could take them to that. Karaoke might be fun."

"I don't know. They might be uncomfortable. Or embarrassed."

I nodded slowly. "Okay. That's not as great an idea then. Maybe bowling?"

A lot of good ideas came up over the talk, but we eventually decided on the food festival. In my opinion, food was always a good option, and Adam seemed to agree with me. Adam said he was still debating who he was going to bring, so we would tell each other tomorrow.

I couldn't wait.

 **Hello! I know I mentioned writing about a double date, and that's what I originally planned for this chapter, but I kind of got carried away writing about the meeting. It was inspired by a certain chapter from Booklovin'03's SYOC, Yours Truly, which is really good! You should totally check that out.**

 **For the next week, I'm going to be traveling (to see family), so I'm probably not going to update for a long time. Sorry about that.**

 **On a totally different note, I saw Love Simon (a movie) recently, and it was amazing! I loved it, you should definitely watch it.**

 **Again, if you have an idea about something you want to happen, feel free to message me! Thanks for reading!**


	14. Chapter 14

_Adam's POV_

I took a deep breath, hand raised above the door. This was the room of the Selected I had decided to ask to the food festival, and I was going to ask her out. How long that would take, I didn't know.

I was hoping that Nico would be near me while I was asking, but he didn't take long to ask out his date, which was typical. She had said yes, and Nico had just texted me that they were waiting by the palace gates.

I couldn't keep them waiting, no matter how nervous I was.

I took another deep breath, and knocked on the door three times. The sounds echoed around me, becoming louder. I stepped back. I didn't want to seem to eager, or anything like that.

A few anxious moments passed, and then Lady Olympia Archer opened the door. Part of her blonde hair was pulled back in some kind of braid/knot, she was wearing a white lacy dress, and an annoyed expression was on her face. Once she saw me, she seemed to relax slightly and her expression disappeared. I did the exact opposite, freezing in place.

"Adam. Hi. What are you doing here?" She leaned on the doorframe casually, but kept her stunning green eyes focussed on mine. They made me nervous, but I couldn't bring myself to look away.

"Hey. U-Um, there's a food festival in Angeles City today, and i was wondering if you would like to come with me? My brother would be there as well. It's a double date, and there's going to be another Selected girl there, so if your not into that sort of thing and don't want to go it's okay. I don't-"

I would probably have kept rambling on if Olympia hadn't cut me of.

"Who's Nicholas' date?" she asked.

"Um, Lady Alia Grayson."

She nodded, a thoughtful expression replacing the bordering-annoyed expression. "Okay. She seems nice. I'll go. Should I change?"

"Yeah. Probably into something casual."

She walked back into her room to change, while I waited outside. Once the door was securely closed, I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. I quickly texted Nico that Olympia had said yes, and that she was getting ready. I couldn't help but smile. I had been pretty worried that she would say no. It wasn't that she was rude, but she just said stuff that you wouldn't expect someone to say. She was honest, at least that was what I had got from her when we talked at the Ball.

After a few minutes, she walked out of her room. She had changed from wearing the dress to a slightly torn pair of skinny jeans, with a gray shirt and a light blue/gray hoodie.

"You look very p-pretty," I stammered, inwardly cringing at myself.

"Thanks," she said, one end of her mouth quirking up ever so slightly. "Lets go."

We walked down the hall together. She was mostly silent, which was nice. I didn't mind talking, but I liked silence better.

That silence was shattered when we approached the palace gates.

"Hey!" Nico yelled from across the path. He and Alia waved, and Olympia and I waved back.

"Good morning Adam, Olympia," Alia greeted, smiling.

"Good morning."

"Mornin'."

"What food festival are we going to?" We had started to walk to the car when Alia spoke.

"It's at Gabriel Park," Nico answered. "It's called Food for Illea. There's a bunch of different kinds of food there, and a lot of the proceeds go to charities. Our squad tries to make it every year, so you may see some of them there to. I hope you don't mind."

"I don't," Alia said. "Your friends and family are fun to talk with. Aren't they, Olympia?"

"I haven't talked to them much."

The limo was mostly quiet, save for a few questions. I started to worry more as we got closer to the food festival. I knew the date had just started, but Olympia didn't seem very happy. The only thing that kept me from panicking was that she didn't seem annoyed, just bored. That could be expected from car rides. Right?

Luckily, Gabriel Park wasn't too far from the palace, so we got there fairly quickly. We all piled out of the car at an alley about a block away from the park. We didn't want to draw attention to us.

"I feel like a teenager," Nico muttered, making Alia and I smile.

"You are still a teenager," Alia said, nudging him playfully.

Nico laughed. "Shoot, you're right."

We started to walk to the festival, Nico and Alia chatting ahead of us. Olympia and I were in silence once again, just listening to the sounds of the city.

"D-Do you like Angeles City?" I asked, suddenly reminded of a conversation starters Eliza had sent me.

"Haven't seen much of it. I've been in the palace ever since you came here, if you hadn't noticed."

"Oh, yeah. I forgot. S-Sorry."

She didn't really say anything, so I just kept rambling.

"If you want to go into the city anytime, you could tell me. I don't want you to feel trapped in the palace, even though it's big. You should have the freedom to go anywhere. Well, not places that are unsafe, but-"

"Adam, you can stop rambling, we're here," Nico said from in front of me, smirking. My face heated up.

Food for Illea was going as well as usual. The huge park was filled up with all different kinds of food stands. Somehow, they did this while preserving the park's natural beauty. Some food stands were in front of ponds, and some under trees.

"Wow, this place is beautiful!" Alia exclaimed, grinning widely. She knelt before some flowers to sniff them.

"You want one?" Nico stepped forward, the tips of his fingers lightly brushing her back.

"No, but thanks!"

Nico shrugged, and held out his hand. She took it, and he pulled Alia up. The two turned back to Olympia and me.

"What should we get first? Italian?"

"Wait, you sure we won't get recognized?" Olympia butted in, placing a hand on her hip.

"Don't worry." Nico waved on hand in the air. "I've been to events like this before. Barely anyone notices me. They wouldn't think we would go to a festival like this."

We decided to get some Italian food first, so we went to a stand called Orgoglio Famigliare. We found out that they sold really good prosciutto, which was dry-cured ham. That was another thing I loved about the food festival, everything tasted good.

"We didn't get that much," Alia casually mentioned as we walked away from the booth, no rudeness in her tone.

"That's just because there's so much good food here. If we ate a lot of everything, we wouldn't have room for all the other foods," Nico explained.

The next food that we got were some baked pork buns from a Chinese stand. It was crispy but soft, and had this glaze on the top. Olympia was smiling softly at it as she ate, which looked beautiful.

"You like it?"

She turned to look at me, still chewing. There was silence for a few seconds, and then she spoke. "Yeah. Not to sweet."

"You don't like sweet foods? Well, foods that aren't really sweet?"

"No."

She went back to eating her bun. "O-Okay. I don't either. We should avoid really sugary dessert stands, yeah?"

"Definitely."

"What were you two saying about sugary food?" Nico had started walking backward to face the two of us, his pork bun gone.

"N-nothing much," I stammered.

"I don't like really sweet foods," Olympia said bluntly.

"Oh," Nico said. "Would you mind if we go get ice cream at the end of the fair? The guy that runs it is really famous, his ice cream is amazing. I'm sure it would be to sweet for you."

"That's fine. If it looks to sweet, I just won't eat it."

Nico shrugged as an affirmative, and turned around to keep on talking with Alia. We weren't really looking for a certain booth, we were just looking around. We eventually found a booth that sold really good Nigerian chicken curry. It was kind of spicy, which I usually didn't like, but there was so much flavor I couldn't stop eating it.

One of the other things I loved about this food festival, all the culture.

"How is this so good?" Nico groaned, making Alia and me laugh.

"I can't stop eating!" Alia said, fanning her mouth a little. "It's pretty hot. I usually don't eat spicy food that much, but this is great!"

"It's better than most spicy food," I added, taking another bite.

Alia nodded. "Definitely."

She smiled at me, and I smiled back.

The next few foods came and went in a blur. We had ham and cheese empanadas, tiny hot dogs, and a Swedish salmon dish called Gravlax. Everything was amazing, but I was still worried about Olympia. She didn't look like she was having a good time, and I didn't want her to be bored. She did look like she was enjoying the food, which was a plus.

After having some gourmet pizza, Nico brought up the idea of splitting up.

"Split up?" Alia said, pizza stil in hand.

"Yeah. Me with you, and Adam with Olympia. We can have some alone time, and meet up for dessert."

It was a good idea, but a bad one at the same time. Nico talked a lot, so that always stopped me from having to talk. We were a good pair. I didn't want to go around in awkward silence with Olympia all day.

Maybe because we would be one-on-one, we would talk more. Or maybe she just didn't like me. Maybe she didn't want to come.

I shook the negative thoughts out of my head. It would be fine. It would be great. Olympia and I would have a great time.

The four of us split up. Olympia strolled down the dirt path in front of me, looking around.

"D-Do you want to go anywhere specific?" I asked. She turned back to look at me, and I curled my shoulders instinctively.

She shrugged. "Not really. Everything that we've had so far has been fine."

"Oh, okay. Tell me if you want anything."

She nodded, and kept on walking. Olympia walked pretty fast, and I had to walk fast to keep up with her.

After a few minutes of silence, she pointed at a Boba stand near us. "How about there? Boba tea is good."

"Sure. I-I've never had it."

She turned around to almost study me, her eyes scanning up and down. I gulped, anxiety rising.

"I think you'll like it," was all she said.

We got in the short line, and waited quietly. She ordered a latte, and I ordered some milk tea. It was one of the simplest things on the menu. Both drinks came with little black spheres on the bottom. They looked kind of weird.

"The drink doesn't look very good, but it's not bad." Olympia seemed to read my mind.

She started to have her drink, so I hesitantly sipped mine. She was right, the drink was good. The tea was sweet, and the spheres were chewy and kind of tasted like honey.

"This is great," I said.

"Yeah. You got the plain kind, the other flavors are even better."

We sat down on a nearby bench, and sipped our drinks as we watched the people go by.

"Do you like the quiet?" I said suddenly, fiddling with the edge of my shirt.

"I guess," she answered. "Why?"

"You've just been really quiet throughout this whole thing. You look kind of bored sometimes, like your not having fun. I don't want you to be bored. Are you bored?" I babbled, taking a long drink of my tea to shut myself up.

"Nah. This place is cool. I like the cause. It helps people, there needs to be more things like this in Illea."

"Why don't you talk that much? Oh, I'm so sorry, that's probably a personal question. You don't have to answer that."

"Don't worry," she said, leaning back from her hunched position to look me in the eye. "I mean, it is personal. But I don't mind.

"My parents-" she spat the word out, her eyes glittering with overwhelming hate and spite that made my stomach turn, "brought me up . . . differently. I don't talk with many people besides my sisters and family friends. This is kind of new."

"Oh. It's okay if you don't want to talk. I wouldn't mind. I like the q-quiet sometimes. It's just that I don't want you to not have a good time. Does that make sense? That probably doesn't make-"

"That makes sense," she interrupted, smirking a little. "Now, should we go get something else? I have a craving for breakfast foods."

We ended up getting waffles from a vender who was still here, even though breakfast was definitely over. Even they were sweet, Olympia liked them. Afterwards, we got noodles. As we walked and eat, she asked me a question.

"You like books, right?"

I almost dropped my chopsticks in surprise. "Y-Yeah. I love books. Why?"

"What are some good ones that I should read?"

I shrugged. "I d-dunno. It differs for every person. What kind of books do you like? Genre, I mean."

"I like mystery. Adventure is cool too. And realistic fiction. I've read some of the classics."

I thought for a moment. I didn't usually read mystery, I liked fantasy better. I didn't think Olympia was a romance kind of person either. I did read a lot of adventure books though. It was one of my favorite genres.

"Six of Crows is pretty old, but it's great. It has romance in it, so if you don't like that, you probably shouldn't read it. The Hate U Give is another old one, but it's awesome. Everything is so real, at least for that time period," I slurped my noodles, trying to think of other books. I was usually really good at this, but Olympia still made me kinda nervous. "The Young Elites Trilogy has adventure, I finished the series recently. The ending is stunning. For books that are newer, After The Escape has a lot of plot twists. Sterling's Song is a bit strange, but nice. Have you read War and Peace?"

"Yeah. I liked it. I haven't met many people who've read it. But then again, I haven't met many people."

I laughed. "They made a musical based on some of it. Natasha, Pierre, and The Great Comet of 1812. Eliza really likes it, the music has a good beat. It was on Broadway a long time ago, but got shut down."

Even though it was old, Eliza still considered it an injustice that it was closed.

"I'll give it a listen," she said, tossing her empty plastic noodle bowl in the trash. "Do you know any good libraries in Angeles?"

"There's the one in the palace," I mentioned. "It's pretty big. I don't really get why they made it, considering we could just buy the books. But it is a nice place."

"Wow. You guys really have it all, don't cha."

Her voice had darkened, and she looked at the ground.

"Are you going to talk to Nico?" I said abruptly. "About how we need to help more people? He'd totally be interested in talking about that. He usually just talks about it with Julie when she's here, but I know she's been busy with French politics. Lena told me. I wasn't stalking her, she's my cousin."

Olympia chuckled a little, her dark mood lessening. "Yeah, I know she's your cousin. Everyone knows you two are cousins. And yeah. I'll definitely talk to him about it."

The two of us found a vendor that I remembered from last year's festival. He had these hot dogs with macaroni and cheese on top that were really good. Olympia had just took a bite out of one when I heard a familiar voice.

"Adam! Olympia!"

Ella was waving at us from across the square we were in. Her arm was hooked through Astrid's, and they were both holding pouches of falafel. The two navigated their way through the groups of people, and I realized Nico and Alia were behind them. The couple also had falafel.

"Look who we found," Nico said, grinning. "We were both at the falafel stand."

"I can see that," Olympia deadpanned. "Nico, can I talk to you for a sec? Alia, do you mind?"

Alia shook her head. "I don't mind."

"What do you want to talk about?" Nico chimed in.

"I have some thoughts about how Illea should be run when you're king."

Nico started to smile, eyes brightening. "Great. What do you think?"

Olympia and Nico started to talk passionately, seemingly arguing about something I couldn't hear. She looked so excited and fiery. It was beautiful.

"You're smiling," Alia said to me. I could feel the blood rising to my face.

"Y-You are too."

"Why wouldn't I be? I'm happy. This festival is so fun!"

Her grin grew, but I could sense something behind it. Something behind her gray-blue eyes. Something that was sometimes there, but not at that moment.

"You can tell me if your sad, you know?" I said, not really realizing what I was saying until after it was out of my mouth. I could feel my face get redder, but I didn't say anything else. I didn't want to embarrass myself more.

She stopped for a minute, just freezing. Then she smiled at me.

"Thanks," she said softly.

We stood in silence for a couple seconds, then she started to talk again. "Hey, I saw a food stand earlier. It's for poffertjes, which is this Dutch dessert that I love. Can we go there?"

"O-Of course. That sounds good."

I told my sisters about that plan, which they said sounded good. Alia went over to Nico, and tugged at his sleeve playfully.

"Come on, we're going to that Dutch dessert stand we saw earlier. You two can argue on the way."

"We're not arguing," Nico muttered, making us all laugh.

The six of us started walking to where Alia thought the stand was. Astrid and Ella were playfully teasing each other as usual, and Nico and Olympia were talking about taxes. I didn't know how they could talk so much about a subject like taxes. They had somethings in common.

"Adam, did you read the new book of Gold Stars and Silver Moons?" Alia said suddenly, twisting around to grin at me.

"U-Um, the series set on a certain moon right? With the girl who's dad is a star? Like, the embodiment of one."

She nodded. "Yup."

"I actually haven't read it."

She gasped dramatically, eyes going wide. "You haven't? It's really good. There's romance and adventure and everything. It reminds me of those old movies, Guardians of the Galaxy I think."

"Oh, those. They're pretty good. And I'll definitely read it. I've heard a lot about it. It's pretty famous, so I was worried if it was going to be overrated."

"I brought my copy of the first book, I'll totally lend it to you!"

"T-Thanks."

Alia was about to say something else (probably about the book series) but caught sight of a food stand.

"That's the one!" she yelled, so everyone in our group could hear. She jogged toward it, and started to talk with the women at the counter. As we got closer, I realized she wasn't speaking in English. The language sounded European, but I didn't recognize it.

After about a minute, she turned back to our surprised expressions. Nico raised one eyebrow at her.

"What?"

"What was that? Do you speak Danish?"

Her smile grew. "Close. Dutch. I'm Dutch. I ordered one poffertje for each person, is that okay? They're really good."

"That's good with us," Ella said.

"Yeah, m-me too," I added.

"Cool," Nico said, threading his hand through her's. Alia smiled.

Olympia nodded in affirmation. She and Nico had stopped talking, so I walked toward her. I wasn't sure what I was going to say or do, so I just blurted out, "How'd you like talking to my twin?"

"It was cool. He's pretty open minded, I think he won't be a bad king."

"Yeah. H-He's really interested into helping the people of Illea. I think he'll be good."

"You never know," she said, her tone becoming more serious. "Power corrupts."

"Yeah. That's true. But we'll never know until he is king, right?"

My voice was a bit unsure, which I hated.

"You're right. I should be more positive. Thanks. You're cool to talk too, you know?"

I almost dropped the poffertje Alia had just handed to me. "W-What?"

"You're fun to talk too. You're realistic, but positive. You've read some of the classics, and you're really nice."

Olympia took a bit out of the mini pancake and sighed in delight as I processed what she said. She liked talking to me. She liked talking to me.

"T-Thanks," I stuttered, smiling.

"No problem."

I took a bite of my poffertje, which was amazingly delicious.

"Alia, these are so good!" Ella said enthusiastically, a powdered sugar mustache above her lip. Astrid wiped it off with her thumb, giggling.

"I know! Not enough places make these, they're the best."

After finishing our desserts (and Astrid having to hold Ella back from getting five more) we decided to go get the ice cream. After all, the food festival was ending soon. We didn't want to miss out.

After a few minutes of walking, we reached the truck. Andrei (the guy who ran the truck) greeted us immediately, grinning widely.

"Nicholas! Adam! Astrid and Ella! It's so good to see you guys again!" he reached through the window and patted me and Nico on the back, which almost knocked the two of us forward. He was a really strong guy. He affectionately mussed my sisters' hair.

"These two are some of the Selected, yes?" he asked, looking toward Olympia and Alia.

"I thought you said no one knew who we were," Olympia said, shooting a look at Nico that almost made him flinch.

"Andrei's the exception. Don't worry, he won't bring us any unwanted attention."

After a few seconds, Olympia looked away from my twin. He visibly relaxed.

"Your regular orders?"

My family and I nodded. Everytime we came, we got the same ice cream flavors. Nico got coffee (Andrei's coffee ice cream was very strong), I got peanut butter chocolate, Astrid got rainbow sherbert, and Ella got cookies and cream. We all got cones as well.

"What would you two lovely ladies like?" Andrei gestured toward Olympia and Alia with his scooper.

"I'll have mint chocolate chip," Olympia said immediately.

"Rocky road for me!" Alia answered cheerfully.

Nico slid some bills through the window. "Two scoops for every order please."

At almost the speed of sound, Andrei started scooping up the ice cream and placing them quickly but nicely in the cones. He handed Nico his, and Alia's to her's. Next was Astrid's and Ella's, and then he handed me mine and Olympia's her's. It didn't take more then two minutes. He was insanely fast.

"Thanks!" Ella said, already looking down at her ice cream with a glint in her eye. Andrei laughed.

"Anytime. Good luck with the Selection, my friends!"

The six of us walked over to a tree and sat down, eating our ice cream. Mine was delicious, the rich flavor making me smile and forget all my worries.

"How are you all liking your ice cream?" Nico asked.

"It's great!" Alia exclaimed. "There's more marshmallows than usual, which I like. You can never have enough marshmallows!"

"True," Ella agreed, raising her cone like it was a glass. Alia raised her's in return.

I looked toward Olympia, who was eagerly eating her ice cream.

"Is it to sweet? I mean, you're eating it, so I guess it's not to sweet. But I'm just checking." I rambled.

"Don't worry about it. The ice cream's great. Not too sweet, and pretty minty. I like it," she said. Olympia flashed a quick smile at me, then went back to eating her ice cream.

I took another bite of my ice cream, enjoying the view of the park. My twin, Alia, and my sisters were talking, but Olympia and I weren't. It was nice though. A comfortable silence.

I almost flinched when I felt a cold hand on mine. I looked over, Olympia had put her hand on my hand.

"You're warm," is all she said, without making eye contact. She threaded her fingers through mine, and I could see a smile on her face. I smiled in return (blushing a little), even though she wasn't looking at me.

I licked my ice cream, my grin widening. My family was around me, and Olympia was by my side. There was nowhere else I'd rather be.

 **First of all, I am so sorry for the long wait. There was testing and school and homework and just a lot of stuff. Again, I'll try to write more often. Sorry if the ending seemed a little rushed.**

 **I mentioned a lot of books and one musical in this chapter, I don't own any of them. Some of them are made up, but others I really like. I would totally recommend them!**

 **As always, feel free to leave suggestions and thanks for reading!**


	15. Chapter 15

_Nicholas' POV_

People usually wouldn't expect the next king of Illea to be sneaking down to the kitchens to get coffee and ice cream in the middle of the night, but there I was.

I couldn't sleep, the coffee ice cream I had eaten _hours ago_ was insanely strong. I was almost afraid to find out how much caffeine was in that, I felt like I could run ten miles in a handstand. I had figured that since I couldn't sleep anyway, I might as well get a snack to eat while doing paperwork.

This early in the morning was about the only time the kitchens were closed, other then that they were open pretty much all times of the day. Luckily, everything was still there, so I started to make some decaf. The last thing I needed right now was caffeine.

I grabbed a pint of dark chocolate ice cream out of the huge freezer (go big or go home, right?) and sat down to wait for the decaf to finish. I opened the top of the ice cream so it could thaw, and pulled out my phone to check the newsfeeds.

Sure enough, right at the top. Pictures taken at Food For Illea with us in the background. I had been expecting something like this. The pictures were probably taken without even realizing we were in the shot. Olympia was going to be mad. She seemed like the kind of person to be scary when mad.

There was nothing else big happening in Illea, besides the healthcare plan my dad was making and some buildings that were being built. I didn't have much work to do either besides some paperwork, my parents wanted the Selection to be what I was mainly focussed on.

The coffee maker dinged, so I grabbed my mug and my pint and started to head back up to my room. Then something unexpected happened.

My phone dinged. Like, got a text dinged.

Huh, I thought. Who would be texting me this late? Or early, I guess.

I pulled out my phone, it was Julie. Weird. She never texted me this late. I was expecting it to be Zane or Lena or maybe Bree.

 **Julie: Where are you?**

I typed out that I was in the kitchens, and she responded with telling me that I should go to my dad's office. Again, weird. Was there some type of meeting?

I decided to bring my snacks to the meeting (or whatever it was) and while I was on the way I got a text from Ella. It was a meeting, I was right. And according to her, I was somehow late.

If it was this early in the morning, that meant dad obviously didn't want the news getting out. He usually didn't care about that type of stuff, which was worrying. It had to be new, because we didn't talk about it at the meeting a couple days ago.

I suddenly remembered the guard that had rushed into the meeting at the end that had told my dad something. I had forgotten about that, he had looked worried.

This couldn't be good.

After a couple more flights of stairs (honestly, who designed this palace) I reached my dad's office. I raised my hand to knock, but the head of the guard had already opened the door.

"You're finally here," Lottie Ashbaugh said, arms already crossed. She glanced at my decaf, and raised one eyebrow expertly. "What were you doing, getting Starbucks?"

I rolled my eyes. "I couldn't sleep, and I was hungry. Sue me."

Aunt Lottie rolled her eyes, but stepped to the side to let me through with what looked like a small grin on her face.

Inside was the three advisors, my parents, some guards, some other politicians from Angeles and Hudson, Julie, Zane, and Ella. I sat down next to my friends.

"What's going on?" I asked them, popping the pint open and pulling spoons from my pocket.

"We don't know," Ella said. "Can I have some?"

I handed a spoon to her, which she energetically dug into the heavenly goodness that is ice cream. I gave one to Zane, who joined Ella. Julie declined politely, which was expected.

My dad cleared his throat, and we all looked toward him.

"Good morning everyone. Thank you for coming, especially this early. I gathered this meeting mostly as a precaution, but if what I think is correct we could be in trouble," my dad began. "Mr. Bernard, please tell us what you found out two days ago."

Mr. Bernard, the representative from Hudson, stood up and spoke. "As you all probably know, there has been an embassy being built for the country of Volkov, more commonly known as New Russia, in Hudson. We have reason to believe that the blueprints of the building were recently stolen."

I raised my eyebrows, biting my lip a little. If that was true . . .

"Where were the blueprints? Are you sure they were stolen?" Uncle Tristan beat me to the questions, leaning forward in his chair.

Mr. Bernard nodded. "The blueprints were at the building, considering it is still under construction. And yes, we are absolutely sure. We made sure the blueprints had small details that were barely noticeable unless you knew they were there. The blueprints we currently have do not have those details, although they are ridiculously close to the original."

The other politicians started to whisper frantically. Frantically was a good word for the situation. Our relations with Volkov were uneasy at best, that's why they were building an embassy in Hudson. It could make us allies, which would be great. If something happened to the embassy and they suspected it was us, it could start a war. That would decimate both countries.

This was bad.

"Who do you think stole them?" Ella asked. "The rebels were defeated years ago, so it can't be them."

"Unless they regrouped or something," my mom said, entering the conversation smoothly. "Some people could have gotten inspired by them and created a new group."

"They have to have good technology or a lot of numbers to be able to get in and out without anyone noticing them in person, " I added.

"Lottie, please add more security to the palace and the embassy," my dad ordered immediately. Lottie nodded, and exchanged a few words with her fellow guards before she left the room.

"Your Highness, is there anything I must do?" Mr. Bernard turned from his friends from Hudson to my father.

"Keep a close watch on what will be the embassy," he replied. "Also, if Emperor Dmitri talks with you, be polite."

"Of course sir."

"Don't let this information leave this room," my dad announced.

Wait.

What?

"Dad!" I called, standing up and running toward him to talk to him. Ella got up to follow me, spoon still in hand.

"What is it Nico?"

"Shouldn't we tell the people what's going on? I mean, hiding information from them is wrong."

"Yeah," Ella agreed. "That's what you've always taught us. The people should know if a war might happen."

"Nico, Ella, I understand your concern. However, we are not sure if anything is actually going to happen. We shouldn't let the people panic for possibly no reason. If we get something more definite, we will release it to the public. For now, we'll investigate.

"Can we tell the rest of the squad?"

He paused, and then nodded. "Yes, but only as long that they swear they won't tell anyone. I'll talk to you two more at breakfast."

He patted us on the back and walked out of the room. My mom followed him, waving and smiling at us.

"Your dad is acting kind of weirdly," Ella mentioned.

"Yeah, well with the war and Volkov and now this he's probably pretty stressed. I know I would be," I said. "It is really weird that he's keeping this quiet. My grandfather would do stuff like this, and my dad said he hated it."

"Well, it is a good idea," Julie added. She and Zane had walked over to us, Zane holding the pint of ice cream. "We don't want your citizens to worry for nothing."

"I have to agree with Julie here," Zane said. "It'll be way easier that way. Plus, the embassy might not even be attacked."

"Yeah, but hiding things from the public is never a good idea. If they find out we didn't tell them something, even if it didn't happen, there could be riots," Ella pointed out.

I could tell Julie was about to say something, so I stepped in. "Hey, we probably should stop arguing about this. We can deal with it when it's not two in the morning."

Ella nodded, and I smiled at her. "Yeah, Nico's right. We should probably get some sleep."

"Sleep?" Zane snorted. "I'm not getting any sleep after this. Anyone wanna watch a movie at my place?"

"I will," I said. "I'm not tired at all."

"Of course you're not," Ella muttered, making me laugh.

"I'm gonna get some more sleep," Julie declared. "I'll see you three in the morning."

She walked out of my dad's office, nightgown swishing gracefully. Zane and I both looked toward Ella, smiling.

"No," she said, but was smiling. "I really need more sleep."

"You know you want to," Zane egged her on, holding out his hand.

"That's such a bad line." Ella took his hand anyway. "But I do. What are we watching?"

"We can decide when we get there," he said.

I grinned. This morning was shaping up to be differently then I thought.

 _Many hours later_

I stumbled down the stairs, blearily rubbing my eyes. The movie and the couple episodes Zane, Ella, and I watched had not been such a good idea. It was still fun though, I didn't regret it.

"I'm so tired," Ella said from behind me.

"You really aren't used to being up so late, are you?" Zane teased her. "You still look cute though."

Ella rolled her eyes. "I don't understand how you can go out so late."

"It's not _that_ hard."

The three of us, Ella and Zane still bickering, walked into breakfast late. I grinned, then yawned. Some of the Selected giggled.

"You're late," Adam said as i sat down next to him.

"There was a meeting, and then Zane Ella and I watched some stuff."

"A meeting?"

I shoveled eggs hungrily into my mouth, nodding. After I swallowed them, I spoke. "Yeah. Private stuff. I'll tell you later."

He nodded. "Okay."

I finished my breakfast relatively quick, considering I was pretty hungry. As i was getting up to follow my twin out of the dining hall, I saw Cora looking at me. She smiled gracefully, curtseying a little. I smiled back, bowing.

"Are you gonna ask her on a date?" Adam whispered.

"Yeah. She's very proper, I talked to her at the ball. She's nice," I answered. "So, about the news."

We walked out of the palace and into the gardens. There was always some kind of noise outside, so we probably wouldn't get overheard. Even if I didn't exactly agree with my dad, i was going to listen to him.

"You know how there's a Volkovian embassy being built in Hudson, right?" I asked.

Adam nodded, looking confused. "Yeah. What about it?"

"The blueprints for it were stolen."

"The blueprints? So someone could sneak in and kill the Volkovian royals when they get here?"

I glanced back at my twin. "That's weirdly specific."

He blushed and looked at the ground. "I r-read a lot. Stuff like that happens all the time."

"Oh, that makes sense. But yeah, something along those lines. It could be new rebels, or some other terrorist group. Either way, it could start a war with Volkov. And stealing blueprints that important would be hard to do without being noticed. We only found out the blueprints were stolen because of minor changes between the real and the fake they planted. The thieves have to be really good."

He frowned. "That's bad. We're already in a war, two wars at the same time would cost us a lot of money. Why'd you try to tell me this privately?"

Huh. Adam knew more about politics then I thought. "Dad wants us to keep this quiet. He let us tell the squad though. It's really unlike him, I don't like hiding information from the people. Julie and Zane agree with him though."

"That is weird. What can we do?"

I sighed. "Not much. It's not like I can just magically find out who stole the blueprints. For now, I'm gonna go on a date with Cora. It's the least I can do right now."

 **Hey! Late chapter again, though not as late as last one's. It's summer break! I am going to be travelling for a while, so I won't be able to write as much, but I'll try to write as much as I can.**

 **If you have any suggestions, thoughts on the chapter, or criticism, please review! Thanks for reading, and I know this is a bit late, but happy pride month!**


	16. Chapter 16

_Adam's POV_

Nico had been speed dating.

Over the last couple days, he had gone on dates with Cora, Aisling, and Camilla. I was pretty sure he was going to ask Natalia out later today. I had been making plans for who I should ask and where I would go with said people, but I hadn't actually asked anyone out. The ladies probably didn't like that.

"Just ask someone who you talked to at the ball. Or someone you passed in the hall and said hi to," Ella said as we walked to lunch. "They'll say yes. And you've done it before."

"Well yeah, because I'm a prince. I don't want them to feel obliged," I argued. "And doing it before doesn't make it easier."

"Well, that's true. But still, there isn't much to not like about you. And they're just getting to know you, they'll want to know more about you. Anyways, who did you want to ask out?"

I ran the list of girls through my mind for what must have been the hundredth time. "Mackenzie said she liked architecture, so I was thinking I could show her around the palace. I talked with Alex the other day, she's kind of awkward but nice. She did work at a bookstore. I also kind of became friends with Evande, she's pretty easy to talk to."

It looked like Ella's eyes lit up when I said Vad's name. "Oh, her! Bree made me follow her on Instagram, it turns out she has really funny posts. Look at this!"

She pulled her phone out of seemingly nowhere (after having female friends for most of my life, Nico and I've learned girls can do pretty much anything) and pulled up Vad's Insta.

"Look at these," she said, handing her phone to me.

The first selfie I saw was one with her hair wrapped up in a towel, the dog filter on, and a caption that said "What I really look like in the morning." Another one was her and Joy, grinning wildly, and one with three girls that I was pretty sure were her maids. Strangely, they were wearing dresses and might have had makeup on. A lot of her photos weren't selfies either, there were some of the gardens and even some of the food that we had been eating.

"She's really pretty and funny," Ella mentioned. "Her family was in this huge scandal and her dad's a douche, but she's nice."

"Oh yeah, I heard about that."

I gave Ella her phone back as we walked into the dining hall. She went to sit with my sister, while I sat down next to Nico.

"Where do you think I should take Natalia out tonight?" he muttered to me, moving the food on his plate around with his fork.

"I don't know. I haven't really talked to her. Maybe a dinner date? Lena told me most girls would like that," I answered, shrugging.

Natalia looked over toward Nico and waved, smiling sweetly. A little to sweetly. Weird.

"You're doing that thing," my twin said.

"What thing?"

"The thing where you tilt your head to one side when you're confused or trying to figure something out. What's up?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. There's just something weird about Natalia. Maybe Mackenzie's right. They are twins, and probably know more about each other then others."

"Well, yeah. But she's so nice. I want to give her a chance, and not judge her based on rumors."

"That's good. Not judging is good."

I could feel that I was going to start rambling, so I started to eat to stop myself.

"So, who're you gonna ask out?"

I almost choked on my food.

"Whoa, calm down," Nico laughed, patting me on the back.

"I dunno," I said after I stopped choking. "I guess whoever I run into in the hall."

"You should have one of the staff send a letter into the Women's Room asking for someone," Eliza suggested quietly from across the table. We both looked at her, and she blushed and looked down.

"Just a suggestion."

"No, that's good!" Nico exclaimed. "You won't have to ask them in person. And it's romantic. That's perfect, Eliza!"

"Thanks." She blushed even redder than before. "I read it in a book."

"So, who will you ask?"

Before I could stutter out an excuse of an answer, Nico's phone buzzed. He frowned at it, and answered it.

"Zane, where are you? You're where? Oh my god, Uncle Tristan's gonna kill you," he quickly left the hall. I looked toward Eliza, who shrugged, looking a little sad.

"I don't know where he is."

"You shouldn't worry. He's safe. Probably. Except from your dad."

That made her smile a little.

Lunch ended before Nico could get back, so I left the hall without him. The hall was empty, which was nice. I liked to be alone with my thoughts sometimes.

Who was I going to ask out? I wasn't sure. I guess Mackenzie would be the best person, because I already had a good plan of what we would do. But tomorrow was the Report, so maybe asking her today or Saturday would be the best plan.

Saturday would probably be better, since then I would have time to plan it a bit more. Yeah, that's what I'd do.

I started to walk up the stairs when I heard my name. It seemed louder when compared the the silence of the hall before, and I flinched and turned around.

"S-Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you," Alex Sexton said. She was standing at the bottom of the stairs, wearing a black dress that went to her knees.

"It's f-fine," I stuttered. "What is it? Not to be rude but you did call my name."

She bit her lip, looking around nervously. "Um, I'm really not sure if this is a b-big deal or not, but I heard you."

My heart started pounding harder, even though I didn't know what she was talking about. She looked really scared, so it couldn't be good. "H-heard what?"

"You and the prince. W-well, the other prince. Nicholas. Nico. In the gardens yesterday."

Oh.

Oh no.

"How much did you hear?" I whispered, walking closer toward her even though every instinct was screaming to do anything but that.

"Not that much, just some stuff about stolen blueprints. And the country V-Volkov, although I didn't know how those two things connect. I'm sorry, I j-just went into the gardens because they're pretty. I really didn't mean to overhear that."

"No, don't worry! It's not your fault. Not at all. That was totally a consequence."

I tapped my foot, thinking. What would Nico do in this situation?

"We should talk more privately," I said. "I'm pretty sure my dad's doing something right now, so we could go to his office. There's no security cameras."

Alex shrugged, looking not sure what to do. "I guess."

I held out my hand, thinking of the books that I had read. "So if we're seen, it won't look w-weird. "

She nodded, and took my hand. Her's was soft and warm, and I blushed when I realized I was thinking about what her hand felt like. That was kind of creepy. I looked at her, and she was also blushing and looking at the ground.

We walked up the stairs, silent. You could cut the tension with a knife. For a few awkward and anxiety-inducing minutes, we walked to my dad's office.

Once we got in there, she let go of my hand like it was burning. I would have been hurt if I hadn't been thinking of doing the same thing. I didn't want to offend Alex, and holding her hand was nice, but it was just so _awkward_. We hadn't even talked that much beforehand.

"So if I tell you this you have to _promise_ not to tell anyone," I began. "B-Because if this gets out we might be in big trouble. Nobody's supposed to know except certain people. Not that i think that you're not trustworthy with this information, but that's what Nico said. Which our dad told him. I should probably stop rambling. Anyways.

"So you know how there's a Volkovian embassy being built in Hudson right?"

"Yeah," she said slowly, as if she was unsure.

"Well, the blueprints were stolen. The b-blueprints of the embassy. It's still being built if you d-didn't know."

We spent a few awkward moments in silence.

"S-So someone could sneak in? And kill someone?" she asked. She seemed to be getting less nervous, and more curious.

I nodded, slightly stunned. That was like what I had said yesterday. "I mean, I guess? We don't know what they're planning."

"Oh. Okay. Thanks for telling me?"

We both stood in my dad's office for what felt like hours. I didn't want to break the silence, mostly in fear that I would say something stupid. But when more time went by, I decided I had to.

"Um, we probably would leave? We m-might get caught, and I don't think we're technically allowed in here."

"Oh!" Alex nodded, already backing up toward the door. "Yeah. I'll just. Go now."

She seemed to stumble as she walked back, considering she hadn't turned around. I saw her wave her arms around as though she was trying to regain her balance. Even though I knew the wall was behind her, I acted on instinct and grabbed her hand to pull her up.

I succeeded, and she didn't hit her head. However, I was holding her hand again. Great. This time I was the one to let go, hoping I didn't look as scared as I felt.

"Sorry," I rushed out at the same time she said, "Thanks."

For a few seconds, we just stood there. Then she laughed. It was small and awkward and seemed kind of forced, but it was a laugh. And it was pretty.

I started laughing in return, which made Alex laugh more and harder until her laugh didn't seem as forced as before.

It was a strange situation, laughing in my dad's office with a girl. But I liked it.

"We really should go though," I said, still giggling a bit.

"Oh yeah."

She opened the door, and we both walked out. She flashed a quick smile at me, and then turned around to leave.

"Wait!"

She turned back around, hair swishing, and my brain short-circuited. Why did I say that?

"Y-You like books? Right?"

She nodded, already smiling more. "Yeah."

"Well, the palace has a huge amount of books of all d-different kinds. Not to disrespect your family's bookstore, but it is b-big. Do you wanna go? Now?"

My heart thumped faster in my chest as I waited for her to answer. What if she said no? I mean, the only reason she was talking to me was because of what she overheard.

"Sure."

I hoped my sigh of relief wasn't to obvious.

"Just no hand holding," she added, smile turned into more of a smirk. I laughed.

"It's this way."

We walked down the hall together again, but this time it was significantly less awkward than earlier. That was good.

We soon got to the huge wooden doors that were the entrance to the library. I pushed them open, and looked back at Alex. I could see her eyes go wide, and her mouth drop open.

"Do you like it?"

"I love it," she said, grinning widely at me.

Our library had been renovated about a decade ago, so it looked much different from before. The room was circular, and there were two stories. The second had a skylight. Bookshelves lined the walls, and there were tables in the middle. A staircase led to the second story. It was beautiful, and looked like it belong in some medieval castle in a movie or TV show.

Alex rushed in, immediately looking for books. I smiled even wider.

Even though talking with Alex about the potential embassy attack and going on a sort-of date with her was the least thing I was expecting to do that afternoon, it was nice. Unexpected, but nice.

Maybe I had to get more used to unexpected.

 **I'm sorry for constantly blowing of Nico's and Adam's dates, I promise next chapter I'll do a date with Nico and one of the Selected. This chapter got up faster than I thought it would, so I'm kind of proud of that. Quick disclaimer, I do not own Instagram.  
**

 **As always, if you have any suggestions or criticism, review or message me! Thanks for reading!**


	17. Chapter 17

_Nico's POV_

I didn't understand why Mackenzie didn't like her twin. Natalia was awesome.

I had asked her out to dinner like Eliza had suggested, and it had been going well. We went to a high-class French restaurant that was opened by a very famous chef, and Natalia fit right in. She was very polite, and had perfect posture and speech. She talked like someone who had been groomed to be royalty for years, which now that I think about it, sounds pretty ominous. She wasn't at all. She was the opposite of ominous.

We had been talking through the dinner, mostly small talk, which I didn't mind. I had asked her if she was enjoying the Selection, which she was. I also learned that she didn't have a job, but she liked shopping and doing hair. SHe hadn't asked me that many questions though.

"What would you two like for dessert?" the waiter asked, pencil at the ready.

"Oh, creme brulee please," Natalia answered, smiling dazzlingly at me. I smiled back.

The waiter looked toward me, and I said, "Chocolate profiteroles, thank you."

The waiter quickly left the table, leaving me and Natalia alone again.

"This establishment is very nice," she said, sipping her red wine. We were both under the drinking age, but the French were pretty loose about that sort of thing.

"It is," I agreed. "I knew the chef from when I visited France earlier this year, so I knew the food would be good."

"Good food is a very important aspect in a restaurant."

I laughed. "Once again Lady Natalia, your right."

My comment made her smile, and she tucked one of her dark brown locks behind her ear. In a lower and more bashful voice (which was surprising) she told me, "I don't think I've ever been somewhere like this before. It's so elegant. But then again, the whole Selection is very high-class."

"The Selection is pretty fancy. A little too much to my liking. I do love dinners like this though. Especially when they're with gorgeous girls like you."

Her cheeks turned slightly pink. "You're too kind."

"That doesn't make it a lie."

That made her smile widen.

"May I ask you something?"

"Of course," I said. "Anything you'd like."

"What's it like to live and grow up in a palace like your's? What's it like to be the country's next ruler?"

I paused for a minute to think. I had been asked this question before, mostly by journalists that wanted to get the inside scoop of being a prince. While I answered relatively honestly, I mostly talked about the glamorous aspects of it. I wanted to give Natalia a more honest answer.

"I love the palace. While it is way too easy to get lost in, I love it. It's home. And my childhood was pretty good, just . . . different. I mean, I am a prince." Natalia giggled at that.

"But I didn't really feel like I had a childhood. I mean, my friends and I played around and stuff. And our parents shielded us from the media pretty well, there weren't any big paparazzi issues either. But I was being shown on T.V since I was born. I've been training to be king since I was a child too. So I didn't have the stereotypical 'child' experience. But then again, what prince does?"

I sipped my wine, waiting to see if Natalia was going to say anything or if I should keep talking. The waiter brought us our desserts, but we didn't eat them right away.

"Wow. I had never really thought about how strange growing up in someplace so big would be. Although, I do understand strange child experiences."

She took a bite of her creme brulee as I asked, "You do?"

"When I was growing up," she began, "my dad was always working. We always had to worry about money, and work on the farm. I didn't like it very much, unlike some people. I didn't really feel like a child or an adult, somewhere in between."

Oh. Well, to unorthodox childhoods!" I said, holding up my glass. She smiled, held up her own, and clinked it against mine.

I really couldn't understand how Mackenzie didn't like her.

 _The next morning_

"So you two had a good time?" Adam asked me, closing his bedroom's door as we started to walk to breakfast.

"Yeah. We had a great time! Natalia is really elegant and kind."

"Huh." He tilted his head to the side, a confused expression on his face. "Mackenzie seemed pretty honest about her being not that nice."

I shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe their experiences with each other in the past have been bad, and they haven't realized the other's changed?"

Adam gave me a weird look.

"What? I read too, I'm not illiterate."

We entered the dining hall and were met with the usual chatter. I noticed Natalia was getting more attention then was normal. She caught my eye, and I waved at her. She waved back, smiling a little.

"Anyways." I grinned at Adam mischievously, making him gulp. "I heard that a certain someone went on a date with a certain Alexis Sexton."

He groaned. "Who told you?"

"Bree."

"I regret nothing," she butted in. Adam gave her the "I'm disappointed" eyebrow that he probably didn't even know he did.

"Even if she didn't tell, I saw it on the news."

He dropped his fork on his plate, making a loud clatter noise that made him blush and Bree and me snort. "How-how? We didn't even go outside?"

"Journalists, man. They can do anything. Anyways, how did it go?"

Adam blushed a deeper red. "It went well. She likes books too. I mean, she does work at a bookstore, so of course she likes books. She has really good taste."

He rambled on a bit more about the books she liked until Bree started talking with Ella and Lena about something. Then he focussed on me, and I realized something was up.

"What is it?"

"Alex knows," he whispered, leaning in a little so no one else would hear.

"What do you mean? Know about what?"

"You know. What you told me. Volkov."

For a second I was still confused. Then it hit me. I was the one to drop cutlery this time.

"She knows _what_?!"

Everyone at our table turned to look at us, and I scrambled for an explanation. "She knows who the killer is? And she didn't tell anyone?"

Luckily, that got everyone of our backs, and they went back to eating

"How does she know?" I leaned forward a little too, trying not to make it look suspicious.

"Alex heard us when she was in the gardens. She confronted me about it yesterday but didn't know that much about it, so I told her the whole story."

"Why would you tell her the whole thing?"

"Well, she told me she knew. If Alex really wanted to do damage with the info, she'd leak it online or something. An she's trustworthy."

"How do you know?"

"I can just tell. Please trust me, I'll eliminate her if it gets out."

I sighed. I was annoyed that one of the Selected already knew, but I trusted my twin. I couldn't remember the last time he had been wrong about a person.

"Okay," I said. "I trust you."

"Thanks," he replied, smiling at me. We both started to actually eat, not just pick at our food while whispering furiously.

"I think I'm going to ask Aisling on a date today," I told him.

"Oh, she has red hair. Right? And dressed like Black Widow for the ball?"

"Yup, that's her." I looked toward her. She was eating at the table, and not talking to anyone. "I talked to her at the ball. She's nice, she recognized our costumes."

"Bree showed me her form. I'm pretty sure she plays the ukulele. Or some other instrument. A strings one. Instrument," Adam said.

"Yeah, I think so. She's in art school, well, cartoon art. There's an art history exhibition downtown, I'm thinking of inviting her."

"That's a cool idea. But can you get tickets this late?"

I smiled at my twin, dropped my fork on my now empty plate, and stood up to leave breakfast. "Dear brother, you underestimate me."

I strolled out of the dining hall, and pulled out my phone to make a call.

One hour later, I knocked on Aisling's door. It took a minute for her to answer, and then she opened the door with a less than amused expression.

"Prince Nicholas," she said, crossing her arms. Like at the ball and every other time I'd seen and talked to her, she looked emotionless. I did notice she had an accent, but I couldn't quite place where it was from.

"Please, call me Nico."

"Nico. What're you doing here?"

"Well, there's an art exhibition in downtown Angeles City. I was wondering if you'd like to come."

Aisling thought for a minute. Or at least, that's what I thought she was doing. She was kind of confusing. But in a good way.

"Okay. Sounds interesting. I'll come," she decided. "Just let me change out of this dress."

She walked back into her room as I waited outside. I felt a bit relieved that she said yes, which was weird. I didn't think she'd say no, not at all, but Aisling was different from most girls I'd met. Not like it was a bad different though. She almost reminded me of the girl Adam had brought to the food festival, Olympia. Maybe they were friends.

Aisling opened the door, clad in a black mid-sleeved shirt, blue jeans, and battered universe converse. The outfit was casual, and she looked cute. I did not hesitate in telling her that.

"Thanks," she said. "You look nice too. Now, are we taking a car?"

"Yeah, it's not far from here though."

"Cool."

We walked down to where a driver (this one named Happy, which was a really weird name) would pick us up. I usually used limos to get to places, but recently my dad had gotten us some normal cars likes Prius' and Hondas. The exhibition was a pretty casual event, so we would be taking one of those instead of a limo, which would draw attention.

I helped Aisling into the car, went in myself, and Happy started to drive. We soon exited the palace grounds and entered Angeles City. Aisling started looking out of the window, and I had to remind myself that she had probably never seen the city before.

"Do you like A.C?"

"You mean Angeles City." Aisling didn't even turn away from the window.

"Oh, yeah. Locals like me call it that."

This time she turned around to look me in the eye. "It's nice. Lot's of buildings. It's a lot different from Hansport."

"Yeah, Hansport doesn't have that many big cities. At least, that's what I've heard. I've never been."

"Yeah, that's good."

I gave her a quizzical look, confusion rising in my gut. After a second, she lightly punched my arm.

"Just messing with you."

"Oh," I said, still kind of surprised, but now amused. "That's funny."

"I know. Hansport is beautiful though. You should see it. There's a lot more rain then Angeles though."

"Yeah, I've heard. I don't like rain that much, so I guess it's better if I stay away."

We stopped at the place where the exhibition was, which was an old museum that I was pretty sure I had been before. We got out of the car, and entered the building.

"Do we have tickets?" she asked.

"Yup," I answered, pulling them out of the pockets of my jeans.

"Why do I get the feeling like you bought those today? Because that can't be possible," she said, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

I snorted. "Aisling, I am the impossible. How did you know?"

"A magician never tells her secrets."

We showed our tickets to the security guard, and walked into the exhibition. It was pretty cool, the walls were covered in old pieces of art. Some of the original pieces were even there. There were a lot of people there, but it wasn't really packed or anything.

"This is awesome," Aisling said, looking around. Her arms were crossed over her chest. "Is that the real Starry Night?"

I got closer to it to look at the plaque. "Yeah, it is. I thought it was still at the MOMA."

"That's awesome. It's super old. Made in 1889."

"Jeez," I whistled. "It's a miracle it hasn't disintegrated yet."

"No kidding."

The two of us went through the introduction of the exhibition, which had a bunch of old paintings. Most of them were copies, because the originals had been destroyed in some war or another, or just because they were old. Aisling seemed interested in the paintings, I couldn't really tell.

 _Adam probably could_ , I thought. _He's much better at reading people then I am. Then again, girls like Aisling make him nervous. Girls in general make him nervous_.

"You like the paintings?" I decided to ask.

"No, I hate them," she deadpanned, but I could tell she was being sarcastic this time.

"Haha, very funny."

"I know, I'm hilarious."

We continued to the (technically) first part of the exhibition, which was about the Renaissance. It had copies of paintings like the Mona Lisa (which hadn't been destroyed yet either, it was still in France) and The Last Supper.

"These are so detailed," I said, my hand hovering an inch away from the painting.

"Yeah, they are. I can't paint like this. Then again, painting isn't my specialty."

"Hey, you'd probably be good at painting. You draw cartoons, right?"

She nodded.

"I think there's a comic section somewhere in here. We could go there right now, if you'd like."

"Nah. We should go through the whole exhibition. I don't want to miss out."

"Good idea."

We just stood there, staring at each other for a minute. Finally, Aisling sighed and said, "You have the map remember? Lead the way, oh great prince."

"Oh! Right. I will do that then, my gorgeous lady."

I started walking to the next part of the exhibit, Aisling next to me.

"Hey, you know how you called me 'my gorgeous lady?'" Aisling mentioned.

"Yeah?"

"Uh, don't say that again."

"Whatever you say, my-"

"Don't," she interrupted. I laughed.

The next exhibit had slightly more modern art, more 19th and 20th century. It had more abstract and contemporary pieces, with artists like Andy Warhol. I recognized the iconic Campbell's Soup Cans painting, which I also thought was still at MOMA.

 _Huh_ , I thought. _I know more about art then I thought_.

"So," I spoke. "I hear you play an instrument."

"You heard correctly. I'm learning the ukulele."

"That's cool. What else do you like to do?"

"Read," she said. "I read a lot. I like drawing, which you definitely didn't know. I hike sometimes."

"I like reading too. Most of my family does, actually. Especially Adam."

"I noticed. Hey, when we get back, can you show me the library? I've been looking for it."

"Of course."

We walked through the rest of the 19th/20th century paintings, and into the 21st century art pieces. Some of them weren't even paintings. I saw a couple of books that were carved into, and a picture of what looked like an arch of snowballs. It was beautiful. While I liked paintings and art pieces like that, this kind of modern art was my favorite.

"This is beautiful," I heard Aisling say from behind me. I turned around to see Aisling looking at what I thought was a photo. It showed a bunch of letter pieces, the kind that you stick onto your fridge. Light was shining on them at an angle, and their shadows made a face.

"You're right. How did she do this?"

"Don't ask me. I draw, not whatever this is."

"Look at this." I showed Aisling the snowball picture. "Do you think they're levitating or using magnets or something?"

"Gee, I totally know what's going on in this photo," she muttered. "Great question!"

"Shut up." I nudged her playfully. "But it is cool, isn't it?"

"Yeah. It really is. I should try this sometime. Probably couldn't do it though."

"If you try, ring me up. I wanna try too."

"Okay," she agreed.

The two of us were going through the exhibition fairly quickly. While we did look at the individual art pieces for a good amount of time, we didn't spend that long looking at them.

"Nico, c'mon," Aisling yelled. She was standing at the entrance to the comic section, and was waving at me. I ran after her.

"Thanks for waiting for me," I said.

"Hey, I'm a decent person. Let's go."

We walked into the room, which was much darker than the other rooms. Every comic had a little light above it. Some of them were from newspapers, and some from comic books. I recognized some Black Panther and Wonder Woman ones.

"These are cool," Aisling commented, looking closely at a Spiderman comic strip. "They're a bit more in my area. I never read comics that much though. Mostly regular books."

"Yeah, me neither. Not anymore. Zane, Bree, and I used to read them more when we were younger."

"Who was your favorite?"

"I liked Thor and Batman. Gosh, this takes me back to my childhood," I answered.

"That makes you sound like an old person," Aisling teased.

"Excuse me, I am very young," I said, smiling. "Anyway, who was your favorite."

"Hmmm, I wonder! It's not like I dressed up as a superhero for Halloween or anything!"

I rolled my eyes, but the smile never left my face. "Okay okay, I get it. Black Widow. She's awesome. I thought you might have dressed like her because you look like her."

"Maybe so."

I gave her a confused look, and she looked back at me with her usual emotionless expression.

"I like Spiderman too," she added. "He's funny."

"He is! Not _that_ powerful though."

"Whatever you say, your highness."

"Hey!"

Even though Aisling could be pretty damn sarcastic, I liked talking to her. She was funny and wasn't like most people I'd met.

"You know it's like, half past noon right?" she interrupted my train of thought.

"Oh, it is? Wanna get some lunch?"

"Duh. Why would I remind you if I didn't?"

"Touche."

We walked out of the exhibition and museum together, and quickly saw a pizza place across the street. I started looking around to make sure people wouldn't notice us and make a fuss about it. Adam was usually the one worried about this sort of thing, I usually didn't mind a crowd, but I just didn't really want a whole group of people flocking toward us. Aisling didn't seem like the kind of person who would like that.

"What, is the great Prince Nicholas embarrassed to be seen on a date?" Aisling said after she noticed my looking around.

On a spontaneous thought, I grabbed her hand and pulled her closer to me. Our shoulders were touching, and her face wasn't that far from mine.

"Not at all," I murmured.

Aisling smiled just a little. It may have been small, but she smiled. Well, it was more of a smirk, but still.

"You smiled," I said. "You look pretty when you smile. And I mean that in a total, not-sexist way."

"Thanks."

The light turned green, and the two of us walked across the street, hand and hand and a smile still on Aisling's face.

Hey look, I updated. Yay! Thanks for waiting for so long!

 **So this whole chapter was basically me pretending I know stuff about art and how to talk like a high-class person. I am probably the farthest from high-class as you can get.**

 **I know I'm pretty late, but I saw Ant-Man and the Wasp last week, so hit me up if you have any thoughts!**

 **Again, if you have any criticism, questions, and/or suggestions, review or pm me! Thanks for waiting and reading!**


	18. Chapter 18

_Adam's POV_

I smacked the snooze button for about the fifth time that morning. I usually wasn't one to sleep in, that was Ella, but last night had been long. The Report had gone one longer than normal, because Nico, some of the Selected, and I were being grilled about the dates we had. While it wasn't that bad, I still didn't like all the questions. Most of the Selected didn't seem to mind. Alex, Cora, and Natalia did pretty well in the spotlight. I wasn't really surprised at Natalia and Cora, but Alex had been kind of awkward when I had talked to her. She was really confident talking to Penny.

After that, we had a late dinner and Eliza came up with me to my room so I could show her a book. She started reading it and got sucked in, and I decided I should finish a book I was reading. We stayed up later than expected, and went to bed past midnight. Not the best choice.

Before I could fall back to sleep I heard a knock on my door. I rubbed my eyes, got up, and opened the door.

"Nico?" I mumbled sleepily.

"Yes genius, it's me. Breakfast is in like five minutes. Are you still in your pajamas?" he said, chuckling.

"I went to sleep late okay? We'll get ready."

"We'll?" He peered past me into my room. "Eliza?"

The girl in question was curled up at the foot of my bed, a book in her hand. She seemed to be still sleeping.

"Yeah. I'll wake her up. Just tell mom and dad that we're going to be a bit late."

"Of course. You know, you and Eliza would be really cute together."

I flushed, which made him laugh. "Just joking around. I know you two are so 'just friends' you'd pass a 10 year old's cootie test. And of course, she only likes girls. See you two at breakfast."

He shut the door and left, leaving me embarrassed and amused. Then again, that was normal what I talked to my twin.

"Eliza, it's almost breakfast. You gotta go get ready," I said loudly, walked over to her to gently shake her shoulder.

"Huh?" she muttered, eyes opening and blinking slowly. "Wait, Adam? Oh crap, I fell asleep."

"Yeah. Breakfast is in a few minutes. You'll probably have to go back to Ashbaugh Mansion."

"Yeah, I know. See you in a few," she replied, stumbling to her feet to leave. When she walked out I quickly changed, brushed my teeth, fixed my hair, and walked down to breakfast. I hated getting to places late. Everyone always stared.

When I got to the doors to the dining hall I looked around to see if Eliza was there. I knew she probably was still at her family's mansion, she did have to walk there, get ready, and walk back. But I still hoped.

After a few seconds of waiting, I sighed and walked into the dining hall. Sure enough, staring. I turned pink and walked quicker to my table, sitting down.

"Slept in huh?" Ella asked, taking a bite of scrambled eggs.

"Yeah."

"I'm surprised. That honor is usually mine. Don't expect me to give it up easily."

"Don't worry, I don't expect that."

"All bow to the queen of sleeping in late," Nico chimedin, and the three of us started to laugh.

I dug into my food, and a few minutes later, Eliza walked in, face red.

"I hate being late," she muttered as she sat down, stuffing her face with food.

"Same," Astrid and I said at the same time.

"You didn't come back home last night," Zane unexpectedly stated, leaning toward Eliza with a suggestive smirk on his face. "Go out?"

"N-No," she stammered. "Adam wanted to show me a book and I fell asleep in his room."

"Oh. That's good. I was worried about you."

Zane went back to eating and chatting with Nico, almost like that conversation hadn't happened, but I could see the smile on Eliza's face as she went back to eating. It made my heart melt a little.

"My fam bam, wanna hang out in the lounge after breakfast?" Bree suggested, smiling like she was planning a prank. That smile always made me uneasy and curious at the same time.

"Yeah! That sounds super fun," Lena added, matching Bree's smile. "The whole squad haven't hung out in a while."

"I'm in," Zane said.

"I can't," Astrid sighed. "I'm helping Penny teach the Selected on how to be a future queen, and babysitting Henry. I'll see if I can hang out later though."

Even though we could easily have a servant take care of Henry, mom wanted us to spend time with our brother. While Nico didn't particularly like it, I loved it. Babysitting Henry was calming. When he wasn't crying.

Slowly, the rest of the squad agreed, until it was just me left. I got the feeling I was going to regret this, considering the look on Bree's face, but I nodded anyway.

"I'll probably have to leave early though," Nico commented. "Paperwork."

Julie shot him a sympathetic look. "I have some too. We should work together on it sometime."

"Great idea. Two heads are better than one."

Breakfast ended quickly, and the squad (the name stuck very well) headed up to the lounge while the Selected, Astrid, and Henry went to the Women's Room for lessons. I still felt uneasy over what Bree might be planning. She was awesome, but mischievous.

"So!" she announced as soon as we all entered the lounge. "Wanna watch some Netflix?"

Everyone did want to watch Netflix, but most of us wanted to watch different things. Eliza wanted something romantic (but she didn't argue that much on the subject), while Nico and Ella wanted something dramatic. Lena, Bree, and Zane wanted an action movie or something gorey, and Julie wanted to watch a documentary on Volkovian politics. I didn't really want to start an argument, so I didn't say much. As usual.

After some more arguing, we finally decided on a high school murder mystery T.V show called Riverdale. It was pretty old, but I did like a lot of old things. I didn't want to judge.

The show was pretty good. It had romance and a lot of mystery, and the characters were interesting. We watched some episodes, and after the fifth episode, Bree paused the show and turned around with a smirk on her face.

"Uh oh," I heard Zane mutter to Nico, and I suppressed a smile.

"Let's play Truth or Dare!" she exclaimed eagerly.

"I have to go," Nico said, standing up. "Paperwork, you know."

"I will go with Nico," Julie added. "I have gotten behind on my work, and some more paperwork has just arrived from France. I am obligated to do it as quickly as possible."

"Awww, frangine, come on. Papa won't care!" Lena yelled after her sister, but the two of them were already out the door.

I could understand why they wanted to leave. Truth or Dare could be fun (I didn't like it that much though) but with daredevils like Bree and Lena playing it could get a little intense. Last time we played (with the whole squad) Zane had gotten slapped across the face, Astrid almost fell out of the tallest tree in the gardens, and Nico had gotten grounded for a week. And that wasn't the worst of it.

I was going to leave when Bree saw me inching of the couch.

"Cuz, c'mon. Stay, don't leave us. Liz-Liz, you too. Please? I'll love you guys forever."

She gave us her best puppy dog eyes.

No, I thought.

"Su-sure," I stuttered. Eliza nodded along with me. Bree lit up, grinning wildly at us. I was going to regret this decision, but I just couldn't say no.

"Lena, truth or dare?" Bree asked my cousin.

"Dare, duh."

Lena got dared to hang out of the window by her knees, which she did. I was slightly worried that she would fall, but she didn't. She did scare one of the gardeners though, which I felt slightly guilty for (even though I didn't do it).

Next, Lena asked Zane the question, and he picked truth. She asked him if he would kiss Bree if given the chance.

"Yeah," he answered. "She's all cute and small."

Bree lightly smacked him, rolling her eyes. I couldn't see how she wasn't flustered or embarrassed. I would be.

"Ella, truth or dare."

"Dare."

Ella got dared to flirt with one of the butlers, which made her roll her eyes but grudgingly get up and leave the lounge. After a few seconds we all got up to peer out the door, and Bree even pulled out her phone to record the scene.

Because the palace was huge, servants were always coming and going. A butler showed up in a few minutes, and Ella sauntered up to him, smiling coyly.

"Hey handsome," she practically purred, and Bree, Lena, and even Zane started giggling. My face flushed. I hated second-hand embarrassment.

"My lady," he responded, nodding respectfully. Ella wasn't a royal, but her mom was a royal adviser, so she was still highly respected.

I couldn't see or hear what was going on very well, so I decided to just go sit on the couch and wait for Ella to come back. Or for Bree to put the video she was filming on the T.V., which she was definitely going to do. Eliza joined me, pulling a book out of nowhere again.

A few minutes later, the rest of the squad practically sprinted back into the room, sitting down and pretending they weren't spying on Ella. Ella came in a few seconds later, with pink cheeks.

"Thanks a lot," she said to Zane. "I swear if what happened ever gets to my dad. . ."

"Awww Ella, you know you love me," Zane retorted. She stuck her tongue out at him playfully, and he chuckled. I was smiling too, until Ella turned to me with a devilish look on her face. Oh no.

"Adam, dare or dare?"

"I'm-I'm pretty sure that's not how the game works," I said, nervousness rising.

"Don't worry, it's not like I will make you flirt with one of the staff."

She shot a look at Zane.

Ella was like a sister to me, but she wasn't going to hold back on whatever dare she gave me. This was going to haunt me for weeks.

"Fine. Da-dare?"

A grin slid across her face. "I dare you to send a note to one of the Selected with the cheesiest pick-up line we can find or think of to ask her on a date."

 _Oh god it was worse oh my god._

"Wh-what? That's allowed?" I stammered, internally panicking.

"Yup, now let's find a pick-up line!" Ella said, pulling out her phone to search the internet.

This was going to be awful.

After about ten minutes of pretty much everyone in the room (besides me) searching for pick-up lines, Lena yelled in triumph. She grinned evilly at me, and I gulped.

A few minutes later a maid was delivering the note. I stood outside the Women's Room, waiting for the Selected I chose to write the stupid pick-up line to to come out. I couldn't see Bree or anyone else, but I was pretty certain I was getting filmed. I pressed myself against the wall, hoping that I wasn't noticeable.

I heard the door open, and Evande Leventhorpe walked out grinning. My heart rate sped up.

"Adam Schreave, who knew you were such a flirt," she teased, holding the note up high. She started to read it, making my face redder than it already was. "Are you my appendix? Because I don't understand how you work but this feeling in my stomach makes me want to take you out. I'd say God Bless you, but he already did. Two pick-up lines in one."

"I um, uh, that wasn't-"

"Don't worry, I know this wasn't you. This is something that is the exact opposite of something you'd do."

"It was a dare," I mumbled, looking at the floor. "I'm never playing with them again."

Vad giggled, her smile growing. "Truth or Dare. A truly deadly game. Are you up for a date though?"

I looked up, meeting her brown eyes. They were serious. "Really? I mean, I wasn't really planning anything."

"Well yeah, but it can be spontaneous. Do you like horseback riding?" she asked.

"Ye-yeah. I haven't done it in a while though. I'm not that good."

"I won't judge. We're going riding, although we have to change. Meet me here in seven minutes?"

"Sure."

We both left for our rooms. I was glad that ended well. I chose Vad to send the note to because we made quick friends at the ball, and the few short conversations we have had in the halls have gone well. I figured I'd be embarrassed the least.

I walked up the stairs and was indeed ambushed by my friends.

"See, that wasn't that bad," Ella said. "You got a date out of it."

"And I got it on camera," Bree added. "Nico's gonna love this."

My face flushed yet again, and I walked past my friends, trying not to acknowledge them (although I'd feel guilty about it later). I quickly got changed into riding clothes, which I hadn't worn in a while.

I did like horseback riding, but it wasn't my favorite activity. Astrid loved it, she was the one most in the stables. Out of all sports, I liked swimming. Being in the water was peaceful.

I walked back down to the Women's Room entrance a little early. Vad walked down a couple minutes later, in a black blazer and white shirt. Her pants were white too, and she wore tall boots. Her hair was pinned up, and she wore a black cap. I checked my watch. Exactly seven minutes since we left.

"I've gone without being on a horse for too long," she said, smiling. "This is going to be fun. Where are the stables?"

"Um, in the gardens. There's a certain trail especially for riding, with hurdles. The staff might have moved them though. I'm not sure."

"Sounds great. Lead the way."

 _Evadne's POV_

Adam led the two of us out of the palace into the gardens. While I had seen some of the gardens before, I hadn't seen all of them. They were huge, and I hadn't seen this part yet.

"The gardens are beautiful," I commented. "I've never seen any like them."

"Y-Yeah," he said from in front of me. "We have plants from all over the Illea. And some from other countries. It's kind of like a collection. I mean, it is. But most collections are of art pieces and stuff like that, not flowers. We don't only have flowers though. I'll stop now."

I smiled at him, even though he couldn't see. His rambling was pretty cute. "It's still pretty cool. My family has a collection of art pieces, it's really good. Not to toot my own horn though. I picked out most of the pieces myself."

"You like art?"

"Yeah! I'd love to study it more."

"Well, my-my family has a collection of art pieces too. It's small, and probably not as good as yours. You could see it whenever you'd like though. If you want."

He looked back at me to see my smile grow wider. "I'd love to, thanks!"

"It's no welcome. I-I mean problem. Hey, we're at the stables!"

In front of me was a small dark green stable with a worn track leading out the back. It was a lot different from what I had expected, but I liked it. It was cute and humble, which I needed more of these days.

"I like this already," I said as Adam led me into the stables.

Inside the stable were eight stalls, each with a horse in them. There were multiple different kinds of horses, and Adam led us to a stall with a snow-white horse inside.

"This is Minerva," he stated, running a hand over her mane. Minerva neighed happily. "She's an andalusian horse."

"She's beautiful," I remarked.

"Yeah, she really is. Um, you can ride Coco Blair if you want. She's the black horse over there. She's Julie's and Lena's, the two usually ride her when they're here."

I walked over to the stall where she was in. I held out my hand, which she nuzzled affectionately. I smiled.

"She likes you. I mean, a lot of people like you, so it's not surprising. It's just Coco Blair doesn't usually like people that fast," Adam mentioned, unlocking the stall door and leading Minerva out.

"I do spend a lot of time with my horse," I said, doing the same.

"You have a horse?"

"Yeah. Her name is Peggy. She's awesome. I've competed in a lot of competitions with her. Competing's mostly for display though, which I don't really like."

"Yeah, me too. I hate being on display." He gave me a small smile as he saddled and got up on his horse.

I finished buckling the saddle, and got up on my horse without much issue. It felt good to be back in the saddle, even if it was with a different horse.

"Let's go," I called to Adam.

The two of us trotted out of the stable and onto the path, which looked pretty long. It seemed to end at the stables too, so we'd end up back here.

"So, what's the story behind the name 'Coco Blair?'" I asked.

Adam chuckled. "Well, Lena wanted to name her Coco. After Coco Chanel. She's was a really famous French fashion designer, but you probably know who she is. Sorry. Anyways, Julie wanted to name her Blair. It means black in French. So this was the compromise."

"Wow. I don't have a story like that. My horse is named Peggy just because I liked the name."

Adam smiled, and we went back to silence. I could tell he was still a bit nervous though, so I pulled out my phone, leaned toward him, grinned at the camera, and took a quick selfie.

"H-Hey!" he protested as I quickly settled back on my horse and glanced at the phone screen. The selfie had came out great. I was smiling at the camera and Adam was glancing at it, an adorably confused look on his face.

"Don't worry, it came out good," I said, handing my phone to him. "Can I post it later?"

He squinted at the picture, sighed, and handed my phone back to me. "Fine."

I slipped my phone back into my pocket. "Thanks. I'm trying to take a lot of photos to document my experience here."

"Yeah, I know. Sorry, that sounds kind of stalker-y, I mean your Instagram account. I saw some of the photos. You made friends with Joy?"

"Yeah. She's really nice and fun to hang out with. I also made friends with Aisling and Cecelia. They're pretty cool as well."

"I'm glad that you're making friends. I was kind of worried that the Selected wouldn't get a long and not have a good time. Which probably sounds dumb but I don't want anybody to be unhappy."

"It's not dumb. We have made friends, we hang out in groups already. Most of the Selected are really nice, though a couple are a bit strange."

"Strange?"

"They don't seem that nice, but I haven't talked to them that much, so I don't want to judge."

"Oh. That's good. I don't really like people who judge others before meeting them."

"Yeah, me neither."

There was a pause before Adam spoke quietly. "Have the other been bothering you? You know because of your family? Sorry, that's probably personal, but it could happen, and I wouldn't want that to happen to you but-"

"Hey, chill. They aren't bothering me about it. Aisling was wary at first, but we're friends now, like I said," I cut him of. "And I don't really like talking about my family, so can we avoid that subject."

His face turned a shade of light pink. "Okay. Sorry."

"It's fine, you didn't know. Anyways, what do you like to do?"

As we trotted around the track, I learned that Adam liked reading, watching T.V. shows and movies, listening to music, and playing the piano. He didn't like social events, running, and math (but who liked that anyway?). It was interesting, getting to know a person you grew up seeing on T.V and in the news. It was like a reminder that he was human, not a god.

"So what about you? What do you like?" he asked. We had gotten more comfortable talking to each other while riding our horses.

"As you know, I like art," I began. "I like singing karaoke, and social media. Although you already knew that. I like polo and shopping, and charity work. And vodka. A nickname I have is Vadka, actually."

Before I said more, I noticed we had come back to the stables and the beginning of the track, which made me get an idea.

"Let's race!" I exclaimed, urging Coco Blair on so she started cantering down the track again.

"Wait what?" Adam said in the background. I turned around to look at him speeding up on his horse.

I did have a disadvantage, because Coco Blair wasn't my horse and I didn't know her very well. But I did start first, and I knew how to go fast quick. I tightened my legs, pushed myself down into the saddle, and moved my hands forward.

Adam was catching up to me, so I urged my (borrowed) horse faster so she could make the turn and cut him off. It worked, I was able to make it before he did.

The wind blew into my face. My cap wasn't knocked out, but the pins in my hair fell out. My hair flew out behind me as I pushed the horse forward faster.

I glanced back and saw Adam gaining on me faster and faster as we got closer to the end of the path. He did have a lot more experience with Minerva then I did with Coco Blair.

I saw a hurdle coming up on the trail, the only one. We had just gone around it when we went around the path the first time, but that wouldn't be an option this time. I tightened my legs and gripped the reins tighter as the horse got closer to the hurdle.

She jumped so high I was raised of my saddle for a minute. I laughed with joy, grinned as Coco Blair landed and I was thrown back into my saddle. I heard Adam's horse behind me.

The path widened out a bit, and Adam was able to get beside me. He glanced at me and smiled adorably. I smiled back.

We got back to the stables, and the end of the path at the same time. We both slowed down, and I got of the horse.

"It's a tie then."

"Can you give me a little warning next time?" he asked, sliding of Minerva. He was still smiling.

"Sorry. That was really fun though, I haven't done that for a while," I told him.

"Yeah. It was fun."

Adam quickly checked his watch, and his eyes widened. "Shoot, it's halfway through lunch. We're late."

We brought our horses back into the stable, and as we were locking their stalls, I got an idea. "Hey, why don't we skip lunch?"

"Skip?"

"Yeah. They won't mind. We just have to get changed. We could go to Starbucks. And I know you hate getting places late."

"How do you know?"

"I have my ways." I smirked. "C'mon. I don't want to go out in the city wearing this."

 **So I haven't updated in so long. . . again. What's new? I wanted to do the POV of one of the Selected, so there was that. Also school has started. Kill me.**

 **I'll do my best to update more!**

 **If you have any ideas, criticism, or anything else, just review or PM me! Thanks for reading (wow this A/N is short).**


	19. Chapter 19

_Nico's POV_

I was very glad I didn't participate in Truth or Dare.

Unlike my brother, I couldn't read people well. At all. But the minute Bree suggested the game, I knew she was up to something. She was always bad at hiding things. At least Adam got a date out of it, the last time we played truth or dare. . . I shuddered at the thought.

That was a few days ago. Now, I was walking down the steps to go to the dining hall for dinner. My father had asked me to meet him afterwards, which was strange. I hadn't heard of anything big going on, besides the release of our new healthcare plan. But that was a good thing.

I was still thinking as I turned the corner and slammed into a girl. I stumbled backward, but was able to get my balance. I reached out and grabbed the mystery girl's hand, pulling her forward and into my chest to stop her from falling.

"Sorry about that, I wasn't looking where I was going," I said, smiling apologetically.

"Oh don't worry about it," she answered, taking a few steps back. She looked up, her blue-gray eyes meeting mine, and that was when I recognized her.

"Rosie!"

"Nico? Oh my gosh, I didn't recognize you at first," Rosanna Symmes said, grinning.

The two of us had known each other since we were kids. Her mom was in my dad's Selection, and her dad was the son of the former governor of Midston. The two of us weren't that close, but we had met and talked once years before the Selection. She was really nice.

"Can you show me to the dining hall? I got kinda lost," she asked, shrugging sheepishly.

"Of course. C'mon."

I offered her my arm, and Rosie looped her's through mine.

"We haven't really talked much. How's the Selection been for you?"

"It's been great!" she exclaimed, her grin widening. "Most of the Selected are great. I've made some friends. Plus I love the swimming pool in the palace."

"I can't believe I forgot. You're a swimmer. Like your mom."

"Yeah! I love swimming, it's my favorite thing to do."

A brilliant idea popped into my mind as she spoke.

"You know what," I began, turning to look at her. "At ten tomorrow, be at the swimming pool. Be in a swimsuit, obviously. I'll be there."

Rosie's cheeks turned a light pink, but she didn't look that fazed. "Are you asking me on a date?"

"Of course. I haven't gone swimming in a while too, so this will be fun," I said.

"Yeah, it will. I'll definitely be there," she decided, tucking a strand of her light brown hair behind her ear with her free hand.

"Awesome. I'll see you then."

We entered the dining hall, waving goodbye to each other as we went to our respective tables. Ella smiled mischievously at me as I sat down.

"Rosanna, huh?"

"You can't do this every time I talk to a girl you know," I said. "There are a lot of girls. You'd do better teasing Adam."

"Hey!" he protested.

Bree whistled. "Damn princey, you really did him dirty like that. Betrayal in its highest form."

"I don't think that's the correct grammar," Julie said, her brows furrowing as she sipped her tea.

Bree rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

The servants brought the food out, and we dug in. It was just as delicious as ever, the cooks never got enough appreciation.

 _When I'm king I should make an appreciation day for servants and people who do this kind of labor work,_ I thought. _Actually, it should be a week. Or two. They do work really hard, and barely get any breaks._

"You up to maybe sneaking out after dinner?" Lena unexpectedly whispered to me. "Ella, Bree and I are going. We were going to invite Zane, but he's still grounded from his last escapade."

I winced thinking about what had happened. I still didn't get how Zane got to Sonage, but that was a story for another day. "Sorry, I can't. I'd love to, but dad wants to speak to me."

"Oh, okay. It'll be a girls night out!" Lena said, turning briefly to grin at Ella. "Do you know why your dad wants to see you?"

I shrugged. "No clue. I guess I'll see."

"Best of luck."

"You're talking like you're in a high fantasy movie," I pointed out.

"It's the best way to talk," she retorted playfully.

"Can't argue with that."

Lena went back to whispering with Bree and Ella about where they were going. I went back to eating for a moment, and then Adam asked me a question.

"Wait, dad wants to see you?"

"Yup. I don't know why though, I haven't seen anything big on the news. I hope it isn't anything bad."  
"Yeah, me too."

We both started eating again, and an idea popped into my mind.

"You really should ask out Genevive," I casually mentioned. Adam started choking on his food.

"W-What? Why? Why her? Not that there's nothing wrong with her, it's just I danced with her at the ball and talked to her in the hall. She didn't seem to like me."

"Didn't you say she was cold but there was more to her then that?"

He frowned, thinking back. "Yeah. How'd you remember?"

"I'm gonna be the next king, I have to remember a lot. Anyways, she seems cool. She did dress as Marie Curie for halloween, which is totally original. I've never seen that before."

"Yeah. I think she likes science. She's a six though. Not saying that sixes can't like science, but it would be much harder for them to get the resources-"

"Adam, chill. I know what you're trying to say. What I'm trying to say is that you're both nerds are should go on a date," I said.

"Amen!" Bree yelled from her seat. My twin and I both flinched.

"Have you been listening to our entire conversation?"

Bree just smirked at us and went back to talking with Lena and Ella.

Dinner ended soon after that and I walked up to my dad's office, mind whirling. What was he going to say to me? Was he gonna try to hide things from the Illean public again? What he did hide from them wasn't huge, but it did have the potential to be.

 _Well if it's big, you can deal with it. No need to be worried or overthink anything,_ I told myself.

I knocked on my dad's office door, and I heard his voice shout for me to come in. The door opened with a loud but familiar creak.

None of the advisors were in his office, only him and my mom. It was private then. That couldn't mean anything good.

"Hey mom, dad. What's going on? Why'd you ask to see me?" I asked, sliding into a seat.

There was a pause.

"It's nothing awful," my dad said carefully, waving one hand in the air. "Nothing really bad happened. I just wanted your thoughts on an idea I had. It would involve the Selected. But there is news on the potential rebels."

My eyes widened.

"The new rebels? They're official now? How is this not really bad? What did they do? Shouldn't Julie and Ella and Zane know about this? Do the advisors know? I obviously don't mean Ruby, I don't care about her, but-"

"Nicholas," my mom gently interrupted me. "Let your father speak."

I bit my lip and nodded.

"Yesterday, Lottie told me the peacekeepers in Bonita have reported three dead bodies found in the last month. The latest one was found three days ago, but the coroner says that he was killed weeks beforehand," my dad said. "The other two were killed around that same time. They all were shot in the head by the same kind of gun and bullets, and their bodies were carefully hidden. It took a long time to identify them, a very long time, and it was pure coincidence that they were found."

"Okay, why is this important? Wouldn't that be a serial killer case?"

My dad shook his head. "All three bodies were former rebels, released from prison because they hadn't committed many violent crimes. All three of them just stole money and crimes like that, they weren't that malicious, so we let them of easy. Lottie also told the peacekeepers to find other released former rebels in Bonita. All of them were nowhere to be found. Multiple family members of theirs had gotten a note saying that they were on vacation or a work trip, even though some of the few hadn't even touched their suitcase."

That was strange. Very strange. Could they have been taken? Killed? There were so many possibilities, but one stuck out in my mind.

"Had some of them taken their things on their so-called vacation?" I asked. My dad confirmed it.

"Are old rebels being converted?"

My dad had a grave look in his eye, one that made me think I had to be right. "We think so. Lottie's getting peacekeepers all over Illea to look for cases like these, and even more surveillance on the Volkovian embassy. Other then that, we can't do that much. Why did you think that?"

"It would make sense. More manpower, and they would have experience. If I were an evil mastermind, that's exactly what I would do."

"Let's hope you don't become an evil mastermind then," my dad said. "Ella, Julie, and Zane will be told by their parents."

"Anyways, the Selection news," mom added, probably trying to lighten the mood. I wasn't quite sure if it worked.

"You already know we are going to be doing a Christmas and New Years celebration, but we were thinking of doing a Thanksgiving dinner. To honor where Illea came from," my dad suggested. "It wouldn't be a huge thing, just dinner."

Huh. That would be cool, and a good way to honor where part of Illea came from, considering we didn't celebrate the Fourth of July anymore. Plus there would be food, and that's always good. But another idea came into my mind.

"That sounds good. We should definitely do some kind of tribute to the Native Americans though. It wouldn't be fair if we didn't, they were the first people here. So technically, they're where Illea came from."

My dad and mom blinked at the same time, and I bit back a smile. No wonder they got married.

"We didn't think of that," mom said. "That's a great idea. Leo, we should do a toast and talk about them."

"Of course honey. Amazing idea Nico. You're going to be a great king someday."

"Thanks dad. I know." I grinned cheekily at him. He sighed, but he was still smiling.

"Don't get to cocky. That's all, you can leave if you like."

My dad and mom went back to paperwork or whatever they were doing as I left.

As I was walking out, I pulled my phone, went to Lena's contact, and I hit call.

"Hey, Lena? Have you guys left yet?"

I could feel her grin through the phone.

"Of course not. See you in my room."

 _The next morning, Astrid's POV_

I sat in the Women's Room, holding my baby brother Henry in one arm. The Selected were talking to each other, and had moved into their own little groups. No one was really talking to me, which I didn't mind. I didn't really want to be here anyway, but my mom had asked me to take care of Henry and then Nico had asked if I was going to hang out with the Selected, and I panicked and said yes.

It was a logical choice. Two of the people in this room was gonna be my and Henry's step-sisters. I still didn't want to be here. Luckily, Henry wasn't crying or anything, he didn't really cry much.

My mind started to wander and I started thinking about this new book Eliza let me borrow to read until I heard the door open and close. I looked up to see Lilia Smith walking into the room, looking around. Her eyes met mine, and we both smiled. Out of all the Selected, she was the one I talked to the most. She was practically Ella's cousin, and Ella was my best friend, so she was a friend by default.

"Morning Addie. Do you know where Ella is?" she asked. Her makeup was perfect, as usual. She was a beautician after all.

"Um, no. I think she went out last night with some of the squad. I'm not sure where she is now."

"Oh, okay."

She sat next to me on the couch, and we sat in an awkward silence. While we were friends (sort of), I still wasn't good at talking to her. I was better then Adam, but I was still terrible.

 _Please let Ella get here soon,_ I wished. _She's better at this._

"Hey, can I see Henry for a second?"

"Huh?" I blinked. Lilia was looking at me hopefully.

"I'm good with kids. I have a little sister. I mean, she's adopted. But still. It's okay if you don't want to."

"No! You can hold him. He loves other people," I answered, carefully handing him to her.

She looked down at him, and Henry giggled and raised his little hands.

"Awwwww," Lilia squealed. "He's so cute."

She tapped him on the nose, making him laugh louder. A few other Selected turned to us, and immediately started cooing over Henry.

"He's so cute!" Joy said. Evande and Aisling both nodded.

"You guys talking about Henry?" a very familiar voice said. I turned in my seat to look at the face of my best friend.

"Ella, you're here!"

Ella smiled at me, running a hand through her blonde hair.

"Yup, I slept in. I'm still tired though. Last night was eventful, to say the least."

She sat down next to me and laid her head on my shoulder. For some reason, my face got hot.

 _Why's my face so warm? It's not that hot in here._

"Hey Lilia. You have to let me borrow your lipstick, that shade is adorable."

"Of course! I have red nail polish that goes with it, I'll totally give it to you after lunch," Lilia replied.

"I have a red scrunchie that's the same shade, I can lend that to you," Evande added.

The three of them chatted about outfits and makeup for a little while longer. Joy would occasionally add something, but she was holding Henry. Her and Aisling were mostly focussed on that. I stayed quiet. I didn't know that much about beauty, if I said anything it would just bother them.

I was about to start dissociating when Ella poked me on my stomach. I giggled, and lightly swatted her hand away.

"We should do something," she said.

"Yeah, I'm so bored," Joy groaned. "We don't have lessons until after lunch."

"We should play a game," Lilia suggested.

"Not truth or dare," I said automatically.

"Awwww, that's fun though."

I kept on forgetting that Ella could be as mischievous as Bree sometimes. That side of her came out more often when our cousins were visiting.

"I remember the dare you gave Adam. I'm not doing anything like that."

"Fine, not truth or dare. Anyone got any ideas?

"Something with alcohol shots," Evande said. Everyone turned to look at her, including myself.

"No! We can't even drink it legally yet, jeez," Joy giggled, bumping her shoulder against the other girl's.

"I know Zane has some kind of video game console, and there is a T.V. in here. We could play video games," Ella said, shrugging. "Just an idea."

"Oooohhh, does he have Mario Kart?" Joy asked, leaning forward from her position on the floor. "I love that game."

"Mario Kart's awesome," Ella agreed. "And he does have that. I'll ask him to bring it over. Astrid, you better play."

She whipped out her phone and quickly texted him. A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door, and Joy ran over to get it. Sure enough, the game console and the game was sitting outside the room.

"How'd you get him to give it up?" I whispered to Ella.

"Girl, you have no idea how much blackmail I have on him." She smirked, and got up to help connect the console to the T.V.

It took some effort and a quick google search, but we were able to connect it and started the first game. I was in it, along with Ella, Joy, and Evande. Aisling (who was holding Henry) and Lilia were going to play later, and Cecelia and Mackenzie had joined our group, so they would play later to.

"Are you serious?" Ella yelled as Joy got her with a shell and sped into second, behind me. "Astrid, you have to do something."

"I'm trying," I said, swerving to hit a question box. I got a banana, which I dropped after a few seconds. It hit Joy, who cursed under her breath.

Maybe hanging out with the Selected would be more fun than I thought.

 **Finally updated! Also, it's my friend's birthday today, so happy birthday him! That was totally irrelevant, so I'm not sure why I mentioned it, but whatever. I'm like that.**

 **Thanksgiving is next chapter! Wooo, not a filler! The story will be speeding up a bit more now.**

 **As always, please review and tell me what you thought about this chapter. I love constructive criticism! Thanks for reading!**


	20. Chapter 20

_Adam's POV_

I walked through the halls as I saw maids and kitchen staff rush around, trying to get everything in order for Thanksgiving Dinner. We didn't usually have it, but this year Nico, my mom and my dad had decided to celebrate it. It was going to be put on the Report even though it wasn't friday yet, which just added to the stress.

I stuttered out an apology as I bumped into a passing maid, my face on fire. Even though I loved the holidays, I hated the rush. It made me even more anxious than usual.

Over the last week, I had gone on a few dates. Nico had invited me on another group date with Rosie and Cam. We had gone to a fifties style diner, which was really cute. That time period had a lot of flaws, but I liked the aesthetic.

Cam and Nico had gotten up to dance, while Rosie and I stayed seated. I had talked to her a little, she was really nice. We had gotten ice cream afterward together, and promised to go swimming together once in a while. We both loved the sport, it was one of the only ones I could stand. Now that I think about it, there wasn't really a jock in our family. Henry might end up liking sports though.

I had also talked to Alex again. It wasn't really a date, but it was still fun. I liked her. I knew I should actually ask someone out, but it was so nerve-wracking.

I sighed, and maneuvered my way through the crowds to get to the library. My dad had given me some paperwork to do, and I knew a few books that would help me. Nico got the most homework, but since I was still a prince, I had to do some. I still had duties even if I wasn't going to be king.

I finally got to the library, and pushed the big wooden doors open. I smiled as I entered. I loved the library. It was always peaceful and quiet, and had that old-book smell that smelled really good for some reason.

To my surprise, I wasn't alone if there like I usually was. I saw Alex and Eliza draped over beanbags and couches, talking quietly. I also saw Genevieve looking through the science section. We met eyes, and she smiled politely, but it didn't reach her eyes.

There were a few adults here too, and when I looked up to the second floor, I saw a familiar flash of red hair.

 _Maybe that's Aisling_ , I thought.

I found the few books that I was looking for, and was about to sit down at a table when I heard my name being called. Eliza was waving at me, and then motioned for me to go to where they were.

"Hey!" she said, smiling brightly. "Wasn't expecting to see you here."

"Yeah, me neither. Is it okay if I sit?"

The two girls nodded, so I sat down on one of the other couches.

"Did Uncle Leo give you paperwork?" Eliza asked.

"Yeah."

"Why would you get paperwork? Isn't Nico the one that's going to have the big royal duties?" Alex wondered out loud.

"Well, princes have duties to. They're a lot less important though, so that's why I don't get as much work as Nico does," I explained.

Alex nodded. I had noticed that she had become a lot more relaxed around me then when were first talked. I guess she was the kind of person that got more outgoing when you knew them better. So was I.

For some reason, the more I got to know her, I felt more and more like she was hiding something. I didn't know why, I just felt like it.

 _She overheard the conversation about the blueprints_ , a voice in my head whispered. _Maybe she knew about it beforehand_.

No. It wasn't that. It couldn't be that. That was just Nico's paranoia getting to me, as if I wasn't paranoid enough.

"Hey," Eliza suddenly said. "Have y'all read Queens of Geek? It's really good, and super diverse."

Turns out Alex had read it and enjoyed it, and I needed to read it. Another reason Alex was cool, she loved books. She did work at her family's bookstore, which sounded like a dream.

After we talked about books a bit more, Alex and Eliza started to read their books and I started on my paperwork. It was about how to deal with war, and how to try to lower the casualties. I wonder why that is.

I sighed, opened up my books, and got to answering the questions. It wasn't that bad, some of the questions/answers were really interesting. I was so deep into the work that I didn't notice Eliza scooting closer and closer to me.

"So who are you going to ask out next?" she whispered, making me flinch. One of my books clattered to the floor, and Alex looked up from her book.

Eliza winced. "Sorry."

I picked it up and went back to work, still thinking about Eliza's question. My twin thought Genevieve was a good choice, but she definitely didn't like me very much. I had offered to show Mackenzie around the castle a while ago at the ball, but that could get awkward fast.

Eliza interrupted my train of thought again. "You should ask Alex. I'm not trying to shove myself into your love life, but she's great. You both like books too! It's a match made in heaven."

"I would, but we already went on a date. Kind of. I showed her the library because she likes books, but that's not really a date. Is it? We spent some time together, but I'm not sure if-"

"It doesn't. Ask her out! I will if you don't."

I knew Eliza wouldn't, she knew she would get punished, but I agreed anyway. Why did I agree?

I was about to go back to my paperwork when Eliza gave me a look. If I didn't do anything about this, she would. Eliza did have pretty low self-esteem, but suddenly became confident when she wanted to make me do something. I guess friends can be like that.

"Um uh, Alex?" I managed to get out.

"Yeah?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to um, if you wanted to-"

"Sure," she said. Alex seemed to regret the action a second later, her cheeks started to turn pink. "I mean. Go on a date. That sounds fun. And great. Yeah."

My heart seemed to stop beating for a second. How did she know?

"W-What do you mean? I was going to ask you that but how did you know? Did you overhear? I mean, that is the most logical reason."

She smiled awkwardly. "Yeah. This is a library, it wasn't that hard to overhear. I didn't mean to. I don't want to be rude, but you two weren't that inconspicuous."

Alex held up her phone, which showed a picture of the two of us obviously whispering. In the photo I looked nervous, and Eliza was smirking and gesturing with her hands.

"Oh," Eliza said, looking down and playing with her skirt. "Sorry. My bad."

There was an awkward silence which surprisingly, I broke. "So um, do you want to go to a concert? You wear band T-shirts a lot, so. Yeah."

Alex's face broke out into a genuine smile, and she nodded. "That would be awesome."

* * *

The kitchens were really hot. They always were really hot, something was always cooking, but during the holidays they got even hotter. I felt like my skin was about to melt off, but I needed to find someone.

"Ella?" I called out. The kitchen was so crowded, I had to push past people everywhere I went.

"S-sorry, sorry," I stuttered as I bumped into someone. I kept my head down, I didn't want anyone to recognize me. They would start bowing, and I didn't want that.

I got closer to the stoves, and saw a familiar figure stirring a pot. I hurried toward her, trying not to bump into anyone.

"Ella."

The girl turned around, and it was Ella. I sighed in relief, I hadn't thought what I would have done if it wasn't her.

"Hey. What is it?" she asked, fixing her hairnet. There was brown liquid smudged on her cheeks and on her gloves.

"We um, have to get ready for the dinner. Nico sent me. You need to change."

"Oh." She frowned. "Shoot. I was hoping to help out more. Gimme a sec, I gotta throw out my gloves and find Astrid."

"Addie's here?"

"Yeah, she came with me. You can leave if you want, I know the kitchen's not your favorite place."

"Okay, I will. Thanks."

She nodded in acknowledgement, and disappeared in the crowd. I headed out of there as fast as possible, sighing in relief when I got out. It was so stuffy, I didn't get why Ella liked it so much. Maybe because her dad worked there.

In a couple minutes, Ella and Astrid walked out of the kitchen. Their hair was really tangled because of the hairnets they were wearing, and Ella still had gravy on her face. I stifled a laugh.

"Dinner's in 15 minutes, right?" Astrid shook out her hair.

"Uh, yeah. We should go get ready. How long does it take to get into those dresses?"

"Too damn long," Ella said, smirking a little. "Let's go."

The two of us started to walk, but Addie suddenly stumbled forward to grab Ella's hand.

'What?"

"You have something on your face," she said shyly, wiping the gravy away. Addie was blushing, which made me smile. Those two were so cute together, I was surprised they weren't dating already.

The three of us walked to our rooms to get ready. I had to wear a suit, which I hated. It was so stiff, I couldn't move around. Not like I was athletic, but still. It was still so stifling.

It was kind of hard to put on by myself, but I still did it. I always felt so awkward when people helped me change.

I was fixing my tie when I heard a quick knock at the door. Nico burst in right after, even though I didn't answer the door. Twin brothers are like that.

"Good. You're ready. Addie and Ella are taking forever," he said, walking to my mirror and fixing his hair.

"Well, they do have to put on dresses. It's got to take longer."

"True. They're gonna match this year, right?"

"Um, yeah. I mean. I don't know. They do every holiday, so they have to."

For every holiday since they were seven, Astrid and Ella matched outfits. The only one they didn't do was Halloween, because we would do our group costume. Pictures of them always made the front page of magazines. Even though they would wear elaborate gowns/dresses, their outfits would be the newest trend.

We left my room to wait in front of our sister's rooms. Nico knocked on Ella's door, and we heard her yell to wait through the door.

"You are too impatient," Ella teased as she opened the door, Astrid in tow. "These gowns are a bitch to put on. And we have to do hair and makeup. You boys have it easy."

"Wow, watch your language," Nico retorted.

"Shut your mouth and compliment us. We look gorgeous."

Ella wasn't lying. They both wore beautiful off the shoulder evening gowns that reached the floor. They were layered, and each new layer there was a new color. They went from golden to yellow-orange to orange to red.

The girls' hair were pulled up into identical complicated-looking buns. They both wore gold-orange eyeshadow and red lipstick, and had gold-orange nails. How had they found the time to paint their nails?

Women had to be magical.

"You two do look amazing," I said.

"You're my favorite now." Ella pointed at me. "See Nico, Adam should be your example."

Before Nico could say anything, Astrid spoke. "We should probably go. Aren't we gonna be late?"

"Yeah Nico."

"Shut up Ella, we have to go. Stop looking for trouble."

Ella rolled her eyes, but we finally started to walk to the dining hall. We got there before everyone else did, so we were actually early. Ella didn't hesitate to start a friendly argument with Nico about it.

"They always do this," Addie muttered.

"Yeah. They would make a cute couple I guess, if they stopped arguing. I mean, Ella likes someone else. So it would never work out."

I mentally yelled at myself as Astrid looked up at me, surprise and hurt badly hidden behind nonchalance. Before I could screw things up more, the doors opened and our parents walked in, along with the royal advisors and the rest of our squad. I silently thanked the universe.

"Oh my god you two look gorgeous!" Lena squealed. She grabbed Addie's hand and pulled her away from me and toward Ella. Bree followed her. I guess the universe was on my side for once.

"Aw, thanks. You guys do too!"

Lena grinned and did a little spin and a curtsey. She was wearing a shimmery red dress the color of autumn leaves that reached her knees. Her lipstick and eyeshadow matched her dress, and so did her nails. Lena's hair fell in waves, and she was also wearing stilettos. How did women run in heels?

Bree was wearing a maple-orange dress the same length of Lena's, although it was poofier. She was wearing flats and little fake leaves and flowers weaved into her short hair. Her lipstick was light red and her eyeshadow was the same color of her dress.

Was everyone wearing fall-colored clothing?

"Wow. Did you ladies color-code or something?" Nico asked, almost voicing my thoughts.

"Yup." Bree grinned. "Fall colors are the way to go now, especially because Christmas is coming up soon. Gotta wear it when we can."

Before I could disappear into the background, Eliza appeared next to me.

"Hey," she said.

"Hi. You look pretty."

She shrugged, crossing her arms self-consciously. "I guess. Lena gave this dress to me. She did pretty much everything else too. I don't look that nice."

"No, you do. Trust me. I might not know anything about clothing or style, but I have eyes."

Eliza smiled at me. She was wearing a cream-colored dress that brushed the floor, and rose-gold lipstick and eyeshadow. Her nails were rose-gold too, and hair was in a long fancy braid down her back. She looked stunning.

"Can we stop the chit-chat and sit down," Julie interrupted. She was wearing an elegant olive green dress, which I guessed was an autumn color. "We don't want to look unprofessional when the cameras and the Selected get here."

My parents nodded in agreement, and we sat down in our respective seats. A few minutes later the Selected walked in led by Penny. A lot of them were wearing warm colors like the girls in our squad.

"Wow, fall colors really were the way to go," Nico muttered under his breath.

After the Selected sat down, about five cameramen walked into the room. Four started setting up, but one came over to us to tell us what the plan was.

"Okay, so we'll just start filming once everybody's ready. We're thinking about filming Your Highness' speech, and when the food comes in and is presented. We'll also get close up shots of everyone and film some conversations, sorry if we invade your personal space. Please just act normally, the citizens want to see all of you in a normal environment. We probably won't be here the whole time. Is that okay with Your Majesties?"

My dad nodded, and the cameraman that was talking with us went back to help finish setting up, I think. I didn't know how cameras worked.

I noticed Nico sitting up straighter, so I did too. I didn't really like that we were being filmed, it was making me nervous. I was probably going to do something wrong. I started tapping my fingers on the table, which Nico saw.

"Stop worrying," he whispered to me. "It'll be fine. This isn't live anyway, they'll just edit out the stuff they don't like."

Oh yeah. He was right.

"Thanks," I said quietly. Nico grinned.

"Okay everyone, we're going to start filming in five, four. . ."

The cameraman (I still didn't know his name) counted the reston his fingers silently, then I saw the familiar red light blink on. Only now, it only meant _filming_ instead of _LIVE_.

"Good evening Illea," my father greeted, voice smooth as silk. He smiled graciously at the camera, already standing. "I hope you all are having a wonderful Thanksgiving, or had considering this will be put on The Report after Thanksgiving.

"I and my family have a lot to be thankful for. We have a home, clothes on our backs, amazing food to eat tonight, and most of all a family. But all of us here at the palace today are thankful for you. All of you citizens, who we depend on to keep Illea running. Thank you all so much for all of your hard work, and we promise to work hard to make sure all of you are living the best life you can.

"However, we would also like to apologize to a certain group of people. As all of you know, the land Illea stands on was first known as The United States of America. America had many flaws and shortcomings. One of the first ones was that it was built on the bones of many indigenous tribes that lived there before European colonization. On the behalf of my whole family and the leaders who have come before me, I am sorry this has happened to you. We will try our best to help Native Americans out when they need it.

"That ends my speech. I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving feast, for those who celebrate it. Thank you all."

My dad sat down, still smiling at the camera. I saw Nico quickly flash him a grateful look before the doors to the dining hall from the kitchen swung open. Maids and butlers walked out holding platters of amazing looking food and beverages. The cameramen holding cameras walked over to them to film them.

The staff put the food down, bowed/curtseyed, and left the hall. Then we all started to eat.

While the food was delicious, I couldn't get over my lingering nerves. Eating while being filmed wasn't that nice, I felt on my guard and tense. The room was also silent, so that didn't help.

Apple cider was being passed around the table at the moment, so I poured myself some and passed it on. I didn't think much of it until I heard someone yelp.

"Oh my god, what the hell, that's so hot!" Zane put down his mug of cider, glaring at it.

Bree laughed. "Did you seriously drink it now?"

"Yeah? I'm thirsty."

"Bro, it's steaming. It just came out of the kitchen. It's going to be hot."

"Guess I'll die then."

The two of them continued lightly bickering as always, which broke the tension in the room. Soon, everyone was talking like normal. Nico and Julie were passionately talking politics, and Lena had joined in the bickering between Zane and Bree. The Selected had started talking as well.

"Hey Adam, you should help out in the kitchen sometime," Ella said unexpectedly to me.

"I'm uh, not that good at cooking," I replied.

"Well yeah, but you're good at baking. Remember those brownies you made a couple months ago? I would die for those, I swear."

"You remember those?"

"Yeah, of course. I'm the daughter of a cook, I have to love food. It's like a law. Also, you'll get to spend more time with your beloved sister."

She swung one arm around Addie's shoulders and pulled her closer to her, both of them giggling.

"Plus you're much better than Nico. Remember that time Lena dared him to make souffle and it literally exploded in the oven?"

"Yeah," I said, smiling a little at the memory. "The fire alarm went off. We had to evacuate the kitchen."

"Nico got grounded," Eliza added.

Finally, Nico noticed that we were talking about him.

"Oh my god, wait. Are you two gossiping about me?" Nico feigned hurt, pressing his hand to his chest. "So rude. I can't believe it. You actually found "

Ella only smirked. ". Remember the souffle?"

There was a pause, and then Nico groaned. "Please don't remind me of that. It was a traumatic experience that I would not like to relive."

Ella, Astrid, Eliza and I giggled while Nico kept ranting. "It wasn't even my fault! Lena was the one who dared me, and I had never cooked before. A souffle is literally the worst option for someone who never cooked before. How did it even explode? It makes no sense!"

"It's a souffle," Ella answered. "Those don't obey the laws of science."

"Touche."

I grinned. I still felt a little awkward and nervous because of the cameras, but I was getting better. I was glad I had great friends. Or should I say thankful?

We finished our dinner while chatting, and the staff brought the dessert out. There were two pies, and some cookies and brownies as well.

"Addie helped make the apple pie!" Ella exclaimed loudly while it was being served. My sister blushed, but she was smiling.

Lena took a bite, and her face looked like it melted. "Oh wow. I love this."

"Yeah, it's really good," Eliza said shyly.

"Thanks. I only helped with the pie crust though."

We almost didn't notice the camera crew leaving as we ate dessert.

I smiled. Thanksgiving dinner wasn't as bad and nerve-wracking as I thought it would be. It was actually really fun, and we got to eat amazing food.

I had a lot to be thankful for.

 **I'm. . . so bad. . . at updating. . . I'm so sorry.**


	21. Chapter 21

_Nico's POV_

Boredom. The emotion I hated most. Sure, sadness was awful and anger was uncontrollable, but boredom was just plain annoying (which was another emotion I hated, but not as much as boredom). Luckily, boredom was cureable.

I didn't have any paperwork to do or anything to study (for once) and the squad were all doing different things. Adam was on a date with Alex (they were going to a rock concert, which seemed like the opposite of what Adam liked), the girls were in the Women's Room hanging out (Ella said something about Mario Kart) and I wasn't sure what Zane was doing. Probably something dangerous that would get him in trouble. That's what he did most of the time.

I already had spent too much time messing around on the internet, so I got up to do something.

 _I should go on a date_ , I thought. _It's been kind of a long time. Yeah. That's what I'll do, good idea me._

I stood up and left my room, breathing in the fresh air. The windows were open, even though it was getting chillier. And by that I mean dropping a few degrees. It never got really cold in Angeles, or snowed. _Why couldn't my ancestors make the palace somewhere that actually had seasons?_

I sighed, and walked down the hall. Since it was after Thanksgiving, it was officially Christmastime (to me anyways). Or the holidays, if you didn't celebrate Christmas. But we did, so the staff were starting to get out all the boxes of decorations from storage and put them up. I saw a few maids putting up lights as I went down the stairs.

I grinned. I loved Christmas. It was amazing in the palace, with so many lights and fires always burning in the fireplaces and the biggest Christmas tree with so many ornaments. Everyone was so much happier all the time. It was my favorite time of year and my favorite holiday, ever since I was a kid. It was Adam's too. We were similar in some aspects.

Unfortunately, my mood was immediately soured when I saw someone walking toward me from across the hall. Well, two people, but only one of them was the one that really caught my attention. I tried to duck out of the way, but she noticed me.

"Nicholas," Ruby Walker called out, a fake smile plastered on her face. I fought the urge to groan and/or run the other direction, but I didn't smile.

She and her husband Micheal walked up to me. I didn't know much about him, but I knew way too much about her. The third royal advisor who hated people of color, LGBTQIA+ people, the poor, and pretty much every minority ever. She could even be sexist to her own gender, which I didn't understand. I didn't like violence, but having to listen to Ruby rant about the latest minority to show up on the news made me want to punch her.

"Hi," I said, my voice sounding unpleasant even to myself. I smiled to make up for it, but it probably looked fake. I was never good at concealing my feelings, which wasn't good considering I was going to have a career in politics. Oh well.

"Good morning," she replied.

"I'm actually going somewhere so-"

"Please, this will only take up a minute of your time."

I sighed inside. I couldn't escape.

"I hear that we are letting in refugees from Venebia. Is this true?"

I thought back to when I was looking at the news this morning. That had been one of the biggest headlines, that we were letting in refugees from the war between Venebia and Argentina. It was a really controversial topic.

Of course she was bringing it up.

"Yeah, that's true. Why?"

"It is? I hoped it wasn't."

 _Don't get into an argument don't get into an argument don't get into another argument with her this isn't going to end well please just don't-_

"Excuse me? Why do you think that?"

 _Goddamnit._

"Well, why don't they just stay there? It can't be that dangerous. Plus, a lot of the refugees coming in are probably dangerous. We can't endanger our own people for the sake of a few refugees."

As usual, I couldn't restrain myself.

"You've never been in a warzone. It's going to be dangerous. Plus, Venebia wasn't the greatest place to live in the first place. It's even worse now. And it's not a few refugees, few means three. There are over a hundred currently," I retorted.

"They just have to stick it out then. It'll get better, the war will end."

"You don't know what will happen. Those people could die over there. What kind of a person would let innocents die just because of their skin color or that they're immigrants?"

That was it. I had crossed the line. I had definitely started another argument.

"Did you just call my wife a racist and a xenophobe? You need to show her some respect young man. I don't care that you're a prince, you need to be taught where to draw the line," Micheal said, finally saying something. Great, I guess he was like his wife. You can't expect anything out of anyone anymore.

"I'll show her respect if she respects them," I shot back.

"I am being respectful! I just think they should stay in Venebia where they belong."

I was ready to start yelling, but then I saw someone behind Ruby and Micheal. A blonde girl in a white blouse and black skirt, struggling to carry a pile of books. I was pretty sure that was Cecelia Rhode, but I couldn't exactly tell from this far away.

But she was an escape route.

"Sorry but I have to go she needs my help," I said as quickly as possible. I dodged the two of them, ignoring what they had to say, and walked as quickly as I could to her.

"Nico!" she said, eyes brightening. I couldn't see the rest of her face, it was covered up by books. "Sorry, can you help me with this?"

"Of course."

I grabbed several books off her stack, revealing a happy smile that warmed my heart.

"Can you come to my room? Sorry, I can't carry all of these on my own."

"Yeah, no problem at all."

She thanked me, and we set of to the Selected's hallway. It was thankfully in the other direction. I saw Micheal glancing back at us, which was weird.

"You okay?" Cecelia asked me after a while of walking in silence. "You looked really uncomfortable back there. And angry. Did I do something wrong?"

"No, no. You didn't do anything wrong. You actually helped out a lot."

She gave me a quizzical look.

"I was talking to Ruby Walker. She's a royal advisor, and hates pretty much all minorities. I despise her, as do most of the squad," I explained. "She was talking to me about how refugees from Venebia shouldn't seek asylum here. I disagreed."

"Oh," she said, nodding her head. "I don't get how people can think that way. It's so cruel."

"Exactly! I'm glad we're on the same page about that. Thanks, by the way. I always end up in shouting matches with her, and my dad hates it."

"It was nothing. I didn't even do anything, I just happened to be there."

"It still helped a ton. I owe you."

We had gotten to her room by then, so she bumped the door open with her hip walked in. I paused.

"Am I allowed to be in here?"

Cecelia put down her books and then shrugged. "I'm not sure. You might as well, we're just putting books on my shelf. It's not a big thing."

I nodded, and walked in. Penny would have a fit if this wasn't allowed, but she didn't need to know.

Her room was like the rest of the ladies, but a few things were different. Her bed was a little messy, there were a book and a notebook on her nightstand, and a dress was draped over a chair.

"Your room's nice," I said.

"Thanks. I haven't changed it that much."

We quickly put up the books on her shelf. I recognized a few books Adam and Eliza liked, one of them which I had read.

"You have good taste in books," I mentioned.

"Oh, thanks! Most of them were recommended to me by the other Selected or your friends. They're pretty cool."

"Yeah, they really are. Annoying but awesome."

Even though we had finished putting up the books we kept talking.

"I guess siblings are like that."

"You have siblings?"

Cecelia smiled. "Yeah. My older brother, Asher. He's 22."

"Is he nice?"

"Yup. He teases me, but is kind of overprotective."

"I get that. Adam and I are super overprotective over Addie. She doesn't really get out much though, total rule-follower. I'm not sure if she's ever done a bad thing ever."

"I can see that," she said. Her smile was really nice. "You said squad earlier. What did you mean, if you don't mind me asking."

"Oh, that. What we call the squad is me, Adam, Astrid, Ella, Zane, Eliza, Julie, Lena, and Bree. We all hang out when we can, considering Bree, Lena, and Julie don't live in Angeles. Sometimes my other cousin Oliver hangs out with us, but he's younger and doesn't visit as often. It can get pretty chaotic sometimes."

She looked curious for a second, but her face quickly morphed back into its regular level headed expression. I could still see a hint of interest in her eyes. "Really? Some of them seem pretty calm."

"Yeah, Adam is. So is Eliza and Addie. Zane, Lena, and Bree kind of make up for it though. Do you want to hear stories? I've got a lot that I can't really share with the press," I said, already starting to smirk.

"Sure."

Cecelia sat down on her bed, almost like she was settling down to listen. I leaned against the bookshelf.

"Okay, one of our favorite games to play is Truth or Dare. I try to get out of it when I realize that Bree is planning something, but she has a way with words. Mostly bribery. She's really good at talking me into playing. I got out of it last time, but before I've gotten grounded for a week. I also almost set the kitchen on fire, but that wasn't my fault."

"What happened?" she asked, leaning forward a little.

"Well, the grounding thing was because there was this big meeting with all the representatives from every province. In the room there are all these photos of influential people from Illea's past. Bree dared me to replace all of them with memes. I don't back down from a dare. A lot of those representatives are older, and very confused when they see pictures of Spongebob and Gru from Despicable Me. We also had Despacito blasting in the background. You should have seen their faces."

We were both laughing like children at that point. Her cheeks were red.

"You got grounded for that?"

"Well, one of the portraits accidentally fell and got glass everywhere. The frame broke too. That's why. I know that my parents thought it was hilarious though."

"I wish I was there, that sounds legendary."

"It was. My descendants will know of me as their memelord ancestor."

She grinned, and then we heard a buzz.

"Huh," she said, pulling out her phone. "Oh shoot, my friends are wondering where I've been. I should probably get back to the Women's Room, they're getting worried."

"Oh, yeah. I forgot. It was fun to talk to you."

"Thanks. I like talking too you too."

We walked to the door together, and I opened it for her. She started to walk down the hall, sun shining of her blonde hair, and I had an idea.

"Wait," I yelled, jogging to catch up to her and gently grabbing her wrist. "Do you want to talk more?"

She turned around. "Huh?"

"Do you want to talk more? Preferably over lunch? I know a good cafe in the city we can go to, if you're interested. It's only fair, since you saved me from the horrors of Ruby."

I slid my hand down her wrist to her hand and entwined it in mine. Cecelia didn't pull away, only smiled a little wider.

"Yeah. That'd be cool."

 **Eyyyyy quicker update then normal. Watch me disappear for a month again after this. Also can you see how my political opinions are bleeding into this because I sure can.**


	22. Author's Note

Hey everyone. So I bet you've noticed I haven't updated in about 3 months. School and extracurriculars has been keeping me pretty busy, and I've also been working on other things. I won't lie, I've wasted time on social media as well.

Anyways, I'm going to get to the main point of this chapter.

I'm putting this fanfic on hiatus. And I'm not sure how long it will be.

The reason I'm doing this is because of what I said before: I'm busy. I am also working on other things that are taking up my free time. But it's also for other reasons as well.

I've been feeling really stuck writing the past few chapters. I think that the story isn't improving and I don't have a very clear idea of where I want it to go. Writing this is feeling more like a burden that something fun, and I don't want those negative feelings bleeding into this fanfic. To be honest, writing this is easier than writing the chapter I was working on. I don't want this fic to get worse, which I think it will if I keep writing right now. I think this is the best choice for me and all of you.

I'm not sure how long this hiatus will be. I love Nico and Adam and the whole squad and all the amazing characters you guys sent in, and I would love to work more with the characters I've created.

I will try to stay active on here, so if you have any questions or just wanna talk, you can message me. You can also find me on Instagram, Wattpad, Twitter, A03, and Tumblr. Again, message me.

Writing this has been so fun, and you guys have been wonderful. I've been through a lot and changed a lot while I was writing this, and I feel that my writing has gotten a lot stronger as time went on. I owe everything to all of you. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for reading my stories, especially those who were here for Leo's story. You all are so so amazing. I can't even comprehend how much I appreciate you.

I love all of you guys so much. And as always, thank you so much for reading.


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